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Making Sense of Coronavirus Mutations
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Making Sense of Coronavirus Mutations

Different SARS-CoV-2 strains haven’t yet had a major impact on the course of the pandemic, but they might in future.

Ewen Callaway
Nature, 2020
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  • Scientific
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Research teams around the world are studying mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 virus to discover whether it’s becoming more deadly and contagious. The mutations happen slowly, as is typical for coronaviruses. Since most humans are not yet immune to it, scientists think the virus is not currently threatened enough to evolve other than by chance. Researchers hope to pinpoint better ways to attack the virus with antibodies and vaccines, before it adapts and mutates in more concerning ways.

Take-Aways

  • As SARS-CoV-2 spreads around the world, one gene mutation may help the virus penetrate cells.
  • Scientists initially thought D614G represented a significant mutation, because it was located in the spike protein targeted by antibodies that render the virus noninfectious.
  • Some researchers are working with SARS-CoV-2 viruses in human lung tissue cultures and animals.

About the Author

Ewen Callaway is a London-based writer for Nature.

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