Why new coronavirus mutations may not spread as fast as you fear

As if the world needed any more alarming headlines, each day brings news about the new "mutant" strain of the coronavirus identified in Britain, where health officials have proclaimed that it spreads far more readily than the microbe that has been criss-crossing the globe for months. Well, maybe. Scientists who study the biology of viruses say that so far, there is no proof that this new strain is more transmissible, only what amounts to circumstantial evidence. Human behaviour and random chance also could explain the sudden emergence of the strain. And even if the new strain turns out to spre...