Viral evolution

Dozens of researchers, including myself, worked for years to uncover that swine flu had leapt to humans from a pig in Mexico in 2009. We learned a lot about influenza evolution, pig farming, and outbreak risk along the way.

The pathogen known as swine flu evolved in pigs in Mexico following imports of the livestock from the US and Europe.

Seven years of surveillance and research revealed the complex history of the H1N1 virus that leapt from pigs to humans and sparked the global swine flu outbreak.

A preprint reports that the new SARS-CoV-2 variant multiplies faster in human bronchial tissue but slower in lung tissue than the Delta variant, potentially explaining how it’s spreading from person to person so quickly.

Preliminary studies suggest that existing vaccines falter in preventing symptomatic infections caused by the new coronavirus variant, but protection against severe disease is still high.

Humanity was hoping to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic this year. But viruses have plenty of tools at their disposal, and we should plan for a long-term future in which SARS-CoV-2 is a persistent threat.

Influenza RNA sequences from three sets of lungs preserved in formalin since 1918 provide new insights into the deadly pandemic.

Genetic analyses suggest that the virus came from a patient who survived the 2013–2016 West African outbreak.

The P.1 variant, which has also been detected in five US states, could be responsible for cases of reinfection, according to a preprint.

Engineered viruses that don’t replicate provide a tractable model for scientists to safely study SARS-CoV-2, including research into vaccine efficacy and emerging variants.

Researchers identify deletions in the N-terminal domain of the spike protein that allow the coronavirus to avoid antibody neutralization and that may contribute to the emergence of new variants.

Facing new variants of SARS-CoV-2, some vaccines may offer more robust protection or be more easily redesigned to target them.

DNA sequencing reveals that the virus responsible for the recent outbreak in the Americas originated in Brazil in 2014 and circulated undetected for months before the first cases were reported.

Sequence analysis of 41 viral strains reveals more than a half-century of change. 

Professor, Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Age: 36

January 2014 Scientist to Watch Benjamin tenOever discusses his research.

A genetic analysis that tracks the evolution of pathogens helped incriminate a Spanish anesthetist who infected hundreds of patients with hepatitis C.

Researchers track the evolution of HIV in a single patient to understand what drives the production of broadly neutralizing antibodies.