Virus mutating, but won’t affect drug, vaccine work
Scientists are now aware that the novel coronavirus is changing its genetic makeup slightly, but the rate of mutation is slow and no evidence of a change in the virus’s biology has been found, meaning these minor mutations will not affect current drug and vaccine development, scientists have said.
“Generally speaking, a random mutation has to occur on a relatively less vital part of the viral genome in order to be passed down,” he said. “If a mutation occurs on key parts of the genome, such as those related to replicability, the survivability in future copies will likely decrease.” Lan’s remarks came amid a recent study by scientists from Australia and Taiwan of China claiming a coronavirus strain isolated in India carried a mutation that could hinder global vaccine research.
However, other experts have pointed out that the startling mutation may be due to technical error during the sequencing process. The results were also produced via computer simulation, which also raised many eyebrows, and lab experiments are needed to verify the claims.
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