A new COVID-19 variant spreading through New York City has mutations that may weaken the effectiveness of vaccines, according to two new studies. The B.1.526 variant, which first appeared in samples collected in New York City in November, now makes up about 27 percent of viral sequences deposited into a database shared by scientists called GISAID, … Read more
A fifth of the world’s population has a ‘superior resilience’ to colder temperatures thanks to a genetic mutation, allowing them to never feel the cold, study reveals. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden had 32 healthy men aged 18 to 40 sit in 14 degrees Celsius water until their body temperature dropped to 35.5C. They … Read more
A fifth of the world’s population has a ‘superior resilience’ to colder temperatures thanks to a genetic mutation, allowing them to never feel the cold, study reveals. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden had 32 healthy men aged 18 to 40 sit in 14 degrees Celsius water until their body temperature dropped to 35.5C. They … Read more
Catch of the millennia! Rare YELLOW lobster named Banana is a one-in-30 million find born with a genetic mutation that causes pigment reduction A Maine fisherman caught the yellow lobster and donated it to science Researchers have named it Banana and are now caring for the crustacean Banana was born with a condition called leucism that … Read more
By Eleanor Hayward Health Correspondent What is the South African variant? It was first found in Nelson Mandela Bay in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province in mid-October. Like the UK’s Kent variant, the mutant strain quickly became dominant and drove a ferocious second wave. There are two key mutations that give it an advantage – these are … Read more
Pfizer and BioNTech say their Covid vaccine will work against the coronavirus variant that emerged in Kent and has now become the dominant strain in England. Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK’s chief scientific adviser, said he expected all the current vaccines to work against it but said there were still ‘question marks’ over the variants … Read more
Questions are being raised about why Government scientists didn’t sound the alarm over the new mutated strain of coronavirus until last week despite discovering it two months ago – amid claims data may have been held back to force Number 10 into a rash lockdown. Top experts have also slammed the claim peddled by Boris … Read more
A mutated strain of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus which causes Covid-19 may be more infectious than the original version. A study of more than 5,000 Covid-19 patients in Houston, Texas revealed 99.9 per cent of infections were caused by this altered version of the virus, called D614G. The finding adds credence to the theory the mutation … Read more
A turtle ‘revered as an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu’ is spotted in Nepal with a dazzling golden shell due to an ultra-rare genetic mutation Unique colouration is caused by ultra-rare genetic form of chromatic leucism Causes when xanthophores — cells that are yellow — become dominant Only fifth time a golden specimen of … Read more
Dr. Anthony Fauci has warned that a new mutation of coronavirus could spread easily across America. It comes as infections soar across eight states, with more than 55,000 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday and 671 deaths, bringing the confirmed total to 2.74 million cases and 128,742 deaths. A small change to a variant of the novel coronavirus has helped … Read more