All posts tagged "Genomics"

New data Tuesday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show omicron’s more transmissible BA.2 subvariant now accounts for more than a third of the virus circulating in the U.S. but is not yet driving a surge in cases here as it has overseas. The CDC data show that as of March 19, BA.2 — often referred to as “stealth omicron” — accounted for 34.9% of genetically sequenced samples across the U.S., up from 22.3% as of March 12 and 12.6% on March 5. In the Northeast, BA.2 accounts for as much as 55.4% of the virus, and in Western states including California, 41.3%. Dr. George Rutherf......

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A mysterious lineage of the COVID-19 virus — containing a large and startling collection of mutations — has appeared in California's wastewater system, proof that the fast-moving pathogen is continuing to test new survival strategies. Oddly, the virus has been found only in poop, not people. First detected in an undisclosed community by UC Berkeley scientists, it has shown no signs of causing illness. It's led to no new outbreaks. So where is it coming from? And should we worry about it? No one knows for sure. But its troubling constellation of genetic changes, similar to th......

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Santa Clara County health officials Tuesday said they have identified two COVID-19 cases of a worrisome sub-lineage of the fast-spreading omicron variant. Health officials had little information Tuesday about the two cases of the sublineage, known as BA.2, and said it’s not yet known whether it is more transmissible or virulent than the dominant omicron sublineage, known as BA.1. “The BA.2 sub-lineage is much rarer, but has begun to pop up in places, including California and Santa Clara County and other places around the world,” Santa Clara County Deputy Health Officer Dr. G......

NEW YORK — A Minnesota man who recently visited New York City for a convention at the Javits Center was diagnosed on Thursday as the second case of the omicron variant of COVID-19 identified in the U.S. The unidentified Minneapolis man felt mild flu-like symptoms after he returned home from the Anime NYC 2021 convention at the Javits Center that ended Nov. 21. He had not recently traveled to southern Africa, suggesting that the fast-spreading new omicron strain is now spreading in the community, either in Minnesota or New York or both. Mayor Bill de Blasio said there is little doubt that omicr......

ATLANTA — Machines whir away as scientists in the lab at the Center for Biotechnology and Genomic Medicine of the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University try to unlock the code of disease that can pose a threat to human life. Jin-Xiong She, the lab’s director, is making sure genetic material from patients is properly sequenced to identify the mutation to blame for their illnesses. He has used the genetic sequencing platforms to answer lingering questions about juvenile diabetes and other ailments. Now, he and his staff of scientists stand ready to help in solving one of the greatest s......

As if 2020 needed any more alarming headlines, each day brings news about the new “mutant” strain of the coronavirus identified in Great Britain, where health officials have proclaimed that it spreads far more readily than the microbe that has been crisscrossing 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 behavior and random chance also could explain the sudden emergence of the strain which, given that it was identified in a Color......