Unconfirmed reports suggest that the coronavirus variant iscalled N501Y.
This particular strain has been increasing in frequency since August.
The idea of a mutating virus, breaking out into new strains, is enough to scare most people.
But are these fears justified, and where do they come from?
Surely Hollywood must bear some responsibility for our misconceptions about mutation.
After all, the concept has inspired moviemakers for decades, starting with Die, Monster, Die!
in 1965 through to big-budget franchises, such as X-Men.
Both tell tales of changes to DNA resulting in superhuman abilities.
So you shouldnt be too concerned when you hear that thecoronavirus is mutating.
It is a normal part of evolution.
But the word can be misleading.
The thing on my driveway is both a car and simultaneously a throw in of car different from others.
The same word means both the individual and the group it belongs to.
The same applies to the term protein.
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About a fifth of your body is made up of proteins.
Proteins are the molecules in your body (or lunch) that are made of strings of amino acids.
There are just 20 types of amino acids with which to build all the proteins on Earth.
Within these 20, many are very similar and can be grouped into families based on their properties.
This, in turn, has the potential to change the properties of the protein.
Only mutations that confer an advantage (or make no difference) persist in the DNA.
To talk of the virus having aims and intents with mutations is to talk from a human perspective.
Both would require extensive mutations, the results of which are too random to be planned.
No additional abilities, no superpowers typically the protein just no longer fits as it should.
And if that protein is key to the virus infecting you?
That particular virus particle cant harm you and that mutated virus version dies out.
So how does any organism, human or virus, keep going if most mutations are bad for it?
A common approach is to go back and fix the mutation.
Therefore, both humans and the coronaviruses have correction mechanisms for their DNA/RNA templates.
This evolutionary proofreading is there to correct the errors that would change proteins and inhibit the virus.
The proofreading also reduces the speed at which advantageous mutations are acquired.
Not all amino acids are important to the shape, and changing them doesnt alter the protein.
The biological equivalent of putting different tires on your car.
While these amino acids are different, the spike protein seems largely unchanged in how it works.
No better or worse at getting inside cells.
