(Science Times) In recent days, scientists have reported that a hybrid of the omicron and delta coronavirus variants has been popping up in several countries in Europe.
In recent days, scientists have reported that a hybrid of the omicron and delta coronavirus variants has been popping up in several countries in Europe. Here’s what is known about the hybrid, which has picked up the Frankensteinian nicknames of deltamicron or deltacron.In February, Scott Nguyen, a scientist with the Washington, D.C., Public Health Laboratory, was inspecting GISAID, an international database of coronavirus genomes, when he noticed something odd.
“That day, we rushed to double-check what he suspected,” said Etienne Simon-Loriere, a virus expert at the Institut Pasteur in Paris. “And, yeah, we quickly confirmed that it was the case.” Simon-Loriere said that the genome of the recombinant variant also suggested that it wouldn’t represent a new phase of the pandemic. The gene that encodes the virus’s surface protein — known as spike — comes almost entirely from omicron. The rest of the genome is delta.
Scientists suspect that omicron’s distinctive spike is also partly responsible for its lower odds of causing severe disease. The variant uses it to successfully invade cells in the nose and the upper airway, but it doesn’t do so well deep in the lungs. The new recombinant may display the same penchant.
It’s possible for two viruses to invade the same cell at the same time. When that cell starts producing new viruses, the new genetic material may be mixed up, potentially producing a new, hybrid virus.
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