Australian Lab Cultures New Coronavirus as Infections Climb

With more than 6,000 cases of the 2019-nCoV virus confirmed, researchers are hoping that studying the pathogen in the lab will help stop the outbreak.

Written byJef Akst

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As of today (January 29), the World Health Organization had confirmed a total of 6,065 cases of the new coronavirus that started causing pneumonia-like symptoms in people in Wuhan, China, late last year. Sixty-eight of those confirmed cases come from 15 countries outside of China, raising concerns about the worldwide spread of the pathogen.

Researchers are studying the virus in hopes of aiding the effort to treat infections and minimize further transmission. Julian Druce, head of the Virus Identification Laboratory at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues announced yesterday that they’d successful grown the virus in cell culture, after having isolated it from the first person in the country to be diagnosed with 2019-nCoV infection.

The group, the first outside of China to successfully culture the virus, will share it with the WHO, which will distribute samples to research ...

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Meet the Author

Jef Akst
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Jef (an unusual nickname for Jennifer) got her master’s degree from Indiana University in April 2009 studying the mating behavior of seahorses. After four years of diving off the Gulf Coast of Tampa and performing behavioral experiments at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, she left research to pursue a career in science writing. As The Scientist's managing editor, Jef edited features and oversaw the production of the TS Digest and quarterly print magazine. In 2022, her feature on uterus transplantation earned first place in the trade category of the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers.
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