It isn’t clear how widely the new variants are already circulating. So the latest moves by countries to bar international travelers may once again be too little, too late.
Tag: Genetics and Heredity
The Coronavirus Is Mutating. What Does That Mean for Us?
Officials in Britain and South Africa claim new variants are more easily transmitted. There’s a lot more to the story, scientists say.
Covid Infections in Animals Prompt Scientific Concern
Mink in Denmark are not the only animals that could become reservoirs for the coronavirus to spread new mutations to people.
Tests Show Genetic Signature of Coronavirus That Likely Infected Trump
The White House did not take basic steps to investigate its outbreak. We worked with geneticists to sequence the virus that infected two journalists exposed during the outbreak, providing clues to how it may have spread.
A Woman May Have Been Cured of H.I.V. Without Medical Treatment
In dozens of other patients who suppress the virus without drugs, it seems to have been cornered in parts of the genome where it cannot reproduce, scientists reported.
Viking Age Smallpox Complicates Story of Viral Evolution
An extinct version of the smallpox virus dating to 1,400 years ago prompts speculation about viruses becoming more lethal over time.
Once Science Fiction, Gene Editing Is Now a Looming Reality
The prospect of erasing some disabilities and perceived deficiencies hovers at the margins of what people consider ethically acceptable.
Scientists Find an Earthquake’s Toll in an Organism’s DNA
Along a coastline in New Zealand, kelp seems to contain a genetic record of the planet’s geological upheaval.
China Is Collecting DNA From Tens of Millions of Men and Boys, Using U.S. Equipment
Even children are pressed into giving blood samples to build a sweeping genetic database that will add to Beijing’s growing surveillance capabilities, raising questions about abuse and privacy.
Genes May Leave Some People More Vulnerable to Severe Covid-19
Geneticists have turned up intriguing links between DNA and the disease. Patients with Type A blood, for example, seem to be at greater risk.