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viruses

Animated illustration showing vulnerable red shapes become “infected” and turn green, amid immune blue shapes.
Abstractions blog

The Tricky Math of Herd Immunity for COVID-19

By Kevin Hartnett
June 30, 2020
Read Later

Herd immunity differs from place to place, and many factors influence how it’s calculated.

People in India stand near a red van that serves as a mobile testing center for COVID-19 .
infectious disease

Why South Asia’s COVID-19 Numbers Are So Low (For Now)

By Puja Changoiwala
June 23, 2020
Read Later

Many theories have been offered for why the official COVID-19 toll on the Indian subcontinent has been surprisingly low. The best explanation may be the shortage of good, timely data.

Computer model of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.
Abstractions blog

Sugary Camouflage on Coronavirus Offers Vaccine Clues

By Jordana Cepelewicz
May 5, 2020
Read Later

In the fight against viruses and other pathogens, scientists are looking beyond genes and proteins to the complex sugars, or glycans, on cell surfaces.

Quantized Columns

What Other Coronaviruses Tell Us About SARS-CoV-2

By Tara C. Smith
April 29, 2020
Read Later

As COVID-19 cases continue to increase, our extensive knowledge of other coronaviruses informs our understanding.

Illustration of a connection between a bat and a human, with a backdrop of coronaviruses.
Quantized Columns

The Animal Origins of Coronavirus and Flu

By Tara C. Smith
February 25, 2020
Read Later

Zoonotic diseases like influenza and many coronaviruses start out in animals, but their biological machinery often enables them to jump to humans.

Illustration of an RNA sequence, with an arrow pointing from one end to the other, and a sequence of complementary nucleotides, with an arrow pointing the other way.
Abstractions blog

New Clues About ‘Ambigram’ Viruses With Strange Reversible Genes

By Jordana Cepelewicz
February 12, 2020
Read Later

For decades, scientists have been intrigued by tiny viruses whose genetic material can be read both forward and backward. New research begins to explain this puzzling property.

Abstractions blog

Biodiversity Alters Strategies of Bacterial Evolution

By Jordana Cepelewicz
January 6, 2020
Read Later

In evolution, context is everything: Bacteria with neighbors evolve to rebuff viruses in a different way.

Illustration of pathogens, vaccines, and other necessary factors for eradicating a disease.
Quantized Columns

How to Permanently End Diseases

By Tara C. Smith
December 3, 2019
Read Later

Smallpox was eradicated relatively quickly, but other diseases have proved harder to eliminate. The reasons are a mix of biology and psychology.

Illustration: a virus broken up into parts over several cells
viruses

Viruses Can Scatter Their Genes Among Cells and Reassemble

By Viviane Callier
May 21, 2019
Read Later

Some viruses can replicate without infecting any one cell with all their genes.


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