New strain stuff.....

[MistressoftheDarkSide]

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/18/boris-johnson-calls-crisis-meeting-to-discuss-response-to-new-covid-strain

So,it's just a variant, nothing to see here, blah blah blah..... I'm pretty sanguine about this stuff but dropping this late at night as a headline right now..... I'm getting mightily pissed off with the uncertainty and the subtle fear mongering......

Any thoughts?

From the Gupta lab, Cambridge on Twitter.

“ We will be posting an update to this later today - there is an additional deletion at 144 in Spike that may alter antibody binding.”

Lol I spent a good while puzzling over your first post Ever!

We will be posting an update to this later today - there is an additional deletion at 144 in Spike that may alter antibody binding.”

But that doesn't necessarily mean bad though? It could be a different antibody reaction? Which could be less devastating than the current one?

@caringcarer

Just when you think it can't get any worse it bloody does. I can't wait got 2020 to be over.

While I empathise with this view, it’s really not 2020s fault. The end of the year implies nothing whatsoever about anything. I know you aren’t really serious, but people saying this are making people feel like it’ll all be better in 2 weeks, and it won’t.

Brilliant thread; thanks so much to all the knowledgable contributors! Please do keep updates coming as we learn more.

@Drivingho

It’s so refreshing to have someone like everythingthelighttouches explain the actual ‘science’ in an intelligent but accessible way. It’s miles apart from the pseudo stuff that gets regurgitated on here so often by people trying to look clever.

Totally agree.

Agree.

I keep refreshing this thread for updates though!

Agree!

Just want to follow this thread.
Thankyou for the clear explanations @everythingthelighttouches

Thank you so much to the scientists on this thread.

Much more interesting than anything you see on the news.

@everythingthelighttouches

Are you a microbiologist?

I wonder whether the higher transmission rate, stemming from the higher affinity to the ACE2 receptor also means higher virulence? Since it is more potent to invade multiple tissues and cause multi-systemic disease.

However, the original virus that came out of Wuhan was reported to be more virulent AND less transmissible than the subsequently emerged strain that eventually spread around the world. This tells me that the parallel of higher transmissibility=higher virulence cannot always be drawn

Thank you so much for this thread

Following with interest as it's a breath of fresh air to hear from such knowledgeable professionals in the field.

Thank you for your contributions.

Great thread, following with interest

Just following this thread thanks!

What i would like to know is, how it is more transmissible? Is it that you just need to be in contact briefly? Is it easier to catch on surfaces? Is it airborne? The last one is very worrying!

It's always been airborne.

@Fortherosesjoni70

I think it means that you need a lower dose to become infected.

Let's say someone sneezes and releases a cloud if coronaviruses in the air and you happen to walk through that cloud. You will breathe in some of these viruses, but there is a good chance you won't get infected, depending on how many viruses exactly you've taken in. Let's just say if you breathe in 1000 viruses ( I am making that up - I don't know the exact number and I don't think anyone does) - then you will get infected but if it's just 100 then you won't. With the new variant, maybe that number is 500 instead of 1000 (again, arbitrary figure).

Because the mutations are in the spike protein, it is not likely that its overall stability is altered. The spike protein is just one blip on the surface of it, it does not make up the main structure of the virus. But it does help the virus to get into the host's cells.
So I am presuming it is more about binding to ACE2 receptors. This new variant is probably not more stable on surfaces, in droplets or in the air. It is just better at getting into its target cells.

[quote sickandtired23]@Fortherosesjoni70

I think it means that you need a lower dose to become infected.

Let's say someone sneezes and releases a cloud if coronaviruses in the air and you happen to walk through that cloud. You will breathe in some of these viruses, but there is a good chance you won't get infected, depending on how many viruses exactly you've taken in. Let's just say if you breathe in 1000 viruses ( I am making that up - I don't know the exact number and I don't think anyone does) - then you will get infected but if it's just 100 then you won't. With the new variant, maybe that number is 500 instead of 1000 (again, arbitrary figure).

Because the mutations are in the spike protein, it is not likely that its overall stability is altered. The spike protein is just one blip on the surface of it, it does not make up the main structure of the virus. But it does help the virus to get into the host's cells.
So I am presuming it is more about binding to ACE2 receptors. This new variant is probably not more stable on surfaces, in droplets or in the air. It is just better at getting into its target cells.[/quote]
Ah thank you. I had no idea what more transmissible meant.

Does that mean it could infect children more?

I wondered that.

I think it's not yet known?

Thank you science minded people for all your explanations.

@laudemio actually the Oxford Trial was the only trial to test for transmission with regular testing. The mRNA didn’t but expert scientific opinion is when the results of the ongoing testing re mRNA are in they will prove far superior to Oxford.