A Cat in Pennsylvania Caught The Delta Variant. But It’s Not All Bad News

SARS-CoV-2 is not picky about its host. Since the virus first started spreading among humans, it has jumped from our species to pets, livestock, and even wild animals. Cats appear to be particularly susceptible to contracting COVID, although they often don’t show symptoms, and it’s unlikely that they can pass the virus back to us. Even … Read more

Strange Evolutionary Pace of SARS-CoV-2 Mutations Is Finally Revealed in New Study

The timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic has been marked by a series of catastrophic waves: surging crests of infection spreading around the world, often spearheaded by newly evolved variants of the pathogen, such as Delta and Omicron.   This is simply how viral evolution can play out, of course. But SARS-CoV-2 is an unusually successful … Read more

How much more contagious could the coronavirus get?

The coronavirus is evolving to become more transmissible, and eventually it could even overtake measles, the most contagious virus we know of Health 26 January 2022 By Alice Klein An illustration of SARS-CoV-2 Gerd Altmann/Pixabay Over the past two years, we have witnessed evolution in action, with new variants of the coronavirus becoming increasingly contagious. … Read more

Omicron in children: Cases remain mild despite rise in hospitalisations

By Michael Le Page More school-aged children are being infected by omicron, but findings suggest it causes less severe disease than previous variants Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Several countries are reporting record numbers of children being hospitalised as omicron spreads, with babies especially likely to be admitted. While this has led to claims that omicron is … Read more

‘Deltacron’ Hybrid Virus Almost Certainly Doesn’t Exist, Scientists Say

Experts said Monday that an alleged hybrid coronavirus mutation dubbed “Deltacron” reportedly discovered in a Cyprus lab is most likely the result of a lab contamination, and not a new worrying variant.   Cypriot media reported the discovery Saturday, describing it as having “the genetic background of the Delta variant along with some of the … Read more

Omicron testing: new covid guidelines, LFT results and everything else you need to know

With omicron infections surging around the world, many countries are changing their coronavirus testing guidelines to better deal with the new variant and the huge number of cases it is causing. Here’s what you need to know. Health 10 January 2022 By Clare Wilson Lateral flow tests may be less likely to detect the omicron … Read more

Why is omicron more infectious but less severe? What the science says so far

The omicron variant infects cells in a different way, is present in higher levels in saliva and seems more likely to cause asymptomatic infections – all findings that could help explain why omicron is spreading so rapidly but resulting in a lower proportion of hospitalisations and deaths Health 6 January 2022 By Michael Le Page … Read more

2022 news preview: What will the coronavirus do next?

By Michael Le Page The delta variant, viewed using an electron microscope Steve Gschmeissner/Science Photo Library WE HAVE been watching evolution in action as one coronavirus variant after another emerges and triggers further waves of infections around the world. There is every reason to think this will continue during 2022 – and there is no … Read more

Coronavirus variants: How alpha, delta and omicron tormented us in 2021

A year ago, many were hoping the pandemic would soon be over – but then came alpha, delta and omicron Health 24 December 2021 By Michael Le Page A sign in Hounslow, London, in June 2021 James Veysey/Shutterstock What a year it has been. In December 2020, the first vaccination campaigns were just getting under … Read more

How a genetic twist in an ‘old’ variant may be driving Omicron and Delta today | Science

The new Omicron variant of the pandemic coronavirus has provided an avalanche of mutations, many never seen before, for scientists to ponder. And as with earlier variants, Omicron researchers are focused on numerous changes to the spike protein, which studs the surface of SARS-CoV-2 and allows it to latch on to and invade human cells. … Read more