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A NEW STRAIN OF COVID-19 BREAKES OUT

A NEW STRAIN OF COVID-19 BREAKES OUT

The first is that levels of the variant are higher in places where cases are higher.

It is a warning sign, although it can be interpreted in two ways.

The virus could have mutated to spread more easily and is causing more infections.

But variants can also get a lucky break by infecting the right people at the right time. One explanation for the spread of the “Spanish strain (STRAIN OF COVID-19)” over the summer was simply people catching it on holiday and then bringing it home.

It will take experiments in the laboratory to figure out if this variant really is a better spreader than all the others.

The other issue that is STRAIN OF COVID-19 raising scientific eyebrows is how the virus has mutated.

“It has a surprisingly large number of mutations, more than we would expect, and a few look interesting,” Prof Nick Loman from the COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) Consortium told me.

There are two notable sets of mutation – and I apologise for their hideous names.

Both are found in the crucial spike protein, which is the key the virus uses to unlock the doorway into our body’s cells in order to hijack them.

The mutation N501 (I did warn you) alters the most important part of the spike, known as the “receptor-binding domain”.

This is where the spike makes first contact with the surface of our body’s cells. Any changes that make it easier for the virus to get inside are likely to give it an edge. STRAIN OF COVID-19

“It looks and smells like an important adaptation,” said Prof Loman.

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