Making Sense of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Mutations
Through much of 2020, SARS-CoV-2 accumulated mutations at a steady, yet unspectacular rate. However, as global cases approached 100 million by the end of the year, multiple variants began to emerge. Exhibiting more considerable genomic changes, some variants have...
D614G: Putting the Mutation in Perspective
Since the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, scientists have speculated about the risks of mutation and what this could mean for therapeutics and vaccines. In this blog, we explore the nature viral mutation, what is known about the D614G mutant of SARS-CoV-2, and introduce our...
The Endemic Coronaviruses and What They Might Tell us About COVID-19
While less-well known than some of their counterparts, the 229E, NL63, OC43, and HKU1 human coronaviruses are a significant cause of respiratory disease worldwide. The evolutionary histories and host associations of the endemic coronaviruses also provide important...
Why We Need Antigen and Antibody Tests for COVID-19
RT-PCR is the workhorse of viral diagnosis and has been invaluable in COVID-19 case confirmation and isolation guidance. However, while fast and sensitive, PCR suffers from some inherent drawbacks that limit it to diagnosis during the acute phase of infection. To...