Avian influenza viruses typically require several mutations to adapt and spread among humans, but what happens when just one change can increase the risk of becoming a pandemic virus? A recent study ...
Huge die-offs of elephant seals occurred after the virus gained nearly 20 troublesome new mutations, scientists found. By Apoorva Mandavilli Elephant seals in South America died in massive numbers ...
Chinese researchers have identified a key mutation in the Ebola virus that may explain why one of the deadliest outbreaks in recent history spread so widely and persisted for so long. Their findings ...
This month’s story comes from the Bloom lab using their signature deep mutational scanning technique to identify mutations in the surface protein of Lassa virus -called glycoprotein- that escape ...
Helen Branswell covers issues broadly related to infectious diseases, including outbreaks, preparedness, research, and vaccine development. Follow her on Mastodon and Bluesky. You can reach Helen on ...
Viruses closely related to the deadly MERS coronavirus are lurking in bats and one group, known as HKU5, may be just one mutation away from making the jump to humans. A new study reveals how these ...
A phylogenetic tree of SARS-CoV-2 sequences, built with Nextstrain, displays sequences colored by their clade and organized by collection date. Over time, sequences mutate and diverge, forming new ...
Receptor binding site of the A/Texas/37/2024 hemagglutinin Leu226 mutant (yellow) in complex with the human receptor analog LSTc (cyan). LA JOLLA, CA—Avian influenza viruses typically require several ...