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From Nature
Researchers in South Africa are racing to track the concerning rise of a new variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The variant harbours a large number of mutations found in other variants, including Delta, and it seems to be spreading quickly across South Africa.
A top priority is to track the variant more closely as it spreads: it was first identified in Botswana this month and has turned up in travellers to Hong Kong from South Africa. Scientists are also trying to understand the variant's properties, such as whether it can evade immune responses triggered by vaccines and whether it causes more or less severe disease than other variants do.
The World Health Organization is monitoring a new variant with numerous mutations to the spike protein, scheduling a special meeting Friday to discuss what it may mean for vaccines and treatments, officials said Thursday.
Journal Reference:
Ewen Callaway. Heavily mutated coronavirus variant puts scientists on alert, (DOI: 10.1038/d41586-021-03552-w)
Editor's Note: The UK, France and some Asian countries have suspended flights from 6 African countries as from 26 Nov at the time of processing this story Other countries may choose to do the same.
(Score: 4, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 27 2021, @06:51PM (16 children)
I didn't know there are soooo many virologists, scientists, and expert-level doctors here on soylentnews! Maybe before the virus they were cleverly disguised as average internet idiots?
(Score: 2) by https on Saturday November 27 2021, @10:01PM (3 children)
If I spent a year and a half with half my "news" being about hockey, I imagine I could carry on an intelligent conversation about the chances of the Buffallo Sabres. I might even be incentivized to spell it correctly.
Offended and laughing about it.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 27 2021, @11:55PM (2 children)
I watch lots of movies so I would be a great movie director. I eat lots so I would be a great chef. I saw lots of news about viruses so I am a great virologist...
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 28 2021, @01:35AM
You sound like a very stable genius.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 29 2021, @09:01PM
Hmm well I watched a lot of porn so... i don't want to be a director of that, though, but I think I could make a great paid participant! Unless I am calling the shots, so to speak.
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 27 2021, @10:05PM (8 children)
I understand that the capabilities to read, count, and reason, are beyond the reach of average leftie. Nevertheless, people with education in hard sciences or engineering are required to be capable of all that. No anointment from The Great Leftie Overlord needed to exercise those completely mundane skills.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 27 2021, @11:50PM (4 children)
arts majors (aka lefties) are expected to at least read and reason.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 28 2021, @01:32AM (1 child)
Being expected to parrot is rather the polar opposite of being expected to reason.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 28 2021, @05:55PM
Could not that apply either either way?
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 28 2021, @01:37AM (1 child)
science majors (aka lefties) are expected to at least read and reason.
not met a rightie in any of the sciences except fuck you science boy clean the test tubes or whatever.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 28 2021, @06:42AM
Never observed a leftie not lying.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 28 2021, @01:28AM (2 children)
Hope you are able to take down those Jewish Space Lasers before MTG tries to suck yer cock. I hear she has rows and rows of tiny razor teeth.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 28 2021, @01:35AM (1 child)
Hope you are able to ask your handler for a less stale copypaste real soon.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 28 2021, @12:55PM
My handler is your mom. She knows just how to handle muh balls, soo good. She even got vaccinated cause she wants me to be safe. She regrets not aborting you and waiting for my superior semen.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 28 2021, @03:26AM (2 children)
Your comment reminded me of what happened at our school board meeting when they were scheduled to talk about mandates. One of the conservative people who just got on the school board went on and on about all this stuff about vaccines and epidemiology and all that sort of stuff decidedly out of her depth. She presented her mathematical model about what the virus was going to do. The board then had a representative from health department present the state's model. He even directly addressed some of her concerns and remarks. He finishes the presentation and before anyone else could even ask a question or thank him, she said "I think this is all a load of sh- crap." There was a somewhat heated exchange from the board members, until she finally said "I don't know how you can think that. It makes no sense to me and a lot of people here." One of the other members immediately quipped, "Did you finally learn how to do your 5th grader's math homework since the last time you complained about how it made no sense to you here? Maybe when you figure that out, you'll have a better chance of understanding this."
That's when it hit me about how we have all these people, including some in my own family, who became "experts" overnight in all these complicated things that real experts spend half a life time learning. Literally, I wouldn't trust these "experts" to do their own children's math homework correctly.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 28 2021, @06:53AM
Indeed. AC, meet Dunning-Kruger effect. [wikipedia.org]
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 28 2021, @12:47PM
Some people become musical virtuosos in 2 years, others spend a lifetime learning to play an instrument.
Is that Mr Flip-Flop Fauci, the CDC or the WHO?