Sars-CoV-2 Co-Varying Changes
Understanding the origin of SARS-CoV-2 has implications for public health, economic, and political stability as well as basic science. ~ W. Ian Lipkin, MD 'I wish it need not have happened in my time,’ said Frodo. ‘So do I,’ said Gandalf, ‘and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.’” - J..R.R. Tolkein I have been tracking mutations in the Sars-CoV-2 genome since the beginning of the pandemic. There are many mysteries about the changes in the genome, but we have also learned a lot. When I say "we", I mean the scientific/public health community in general. What follows is mostly a "natural science" approach to studying the Sars-CoV-2 mutations. Coronaviruses have evolved the large single-stranded RNA genomes. Regulation of mRNA transcription and translations is facilitated by cis-acting structures that interact with each other over long genomic distances. See ...