The ancestor of the coronavirus could have been lurking in animals for millions of years before it jumped to humans, a virologist has claimed. The coronavirus, known scientifically as SARS-CoV-2, became able to infect humans when it mutated while inside an animal and then jumped across species. This happened for the first time last year in … Read more
Bioterrorists can trick scientists into making dangerous toxins or viruses by infecting lab computers with malware that alters synthetic DNA they produce for experiments A new cyberattack tricks scientists into making toxic chemicals or viruses Hackers can infect computers with malware to change DNA sequences They can bypass protocols set to scan DNA for malicious … Read more
World’s Covid almost fits on a TEASPOON: Total volume of coronavirus infecting more than 53million people is just 0.2 fl oz Total volume of the 53m cases of disease worldwide is 8ml, teaspoon holds 6ml TV mathematician Matt Parker came up with figure, saying virus particle is small He estimates there are 3.3 million billion Covid-19 … Read more
A mutated version of the coronavirus, dubbed D614G, is found in 85 per cent of global cases and researchers believe this version is so common because its genetic modification makes it more infectious and better at spreading. However, analysis from experts at the University of North Carolina found the change did not make it more … Read more
Professor Sarah Gilbert said it would not be safe for them to do a so-called ‘challenge trial’ of Oxford University’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate An Oxford academic today dismissed the idea of deliberately infecting volunteers with Covid-19 to test the university’s experimental vaccine because no treatment currently exists to keep patients safe. Hopes of ending the Covid-19 … Read more
SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes Covid-19, evolved after several different coronaviruses merged into one, a study has found. Scientists came to the conclusion while trying to understand the evolutionary history of the coronavirus in a bid to help make a vaccine. High-resolution images reveal the spike on the surface of SARS-CoV-2 is 97 per cent … Read more
Chinese scientists have discovered two antibodies which prevent the coronavirus from invading human cells. The distinct antibodies are called H4 and B38 and prevent SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19, from latching on to uninfected cells. In preliminary trials on mice, the amount of virus inside infected lungs was reduced by up to a third … Read more
It may sound like a plot from a science fiction film, but NASA and scientists are concerned about alien viruses contaminating Earth. As the first humans prepare for the Mars mission, experts warn that protocols are necessary to keep extraterrestrial pollutants from hitchhiking on space ships and astronauts when returning home from the Red Planet. Stanford … Read more
Creator of the ‘Love Bug’, one of the world’s first global computer viruses that affected 45 million, now works in a phone repair shop in the Philippines and says he regrets unleashing the malignant files in 2000 Onel de Guzman created the Love Bug virus in 2000 to get free internet access The virus spread … Read more
Sir Terence Stephenson said deliberately infecting healthy Britons will be the only way to test a COVID-19 vaccine if the crisis is brought under control Deliberately infecting healthy Britons may be the only way to test a COVID-19 vaccine if the crisis is brought under control, a top researcher has claimed. Sir Terence Stephenson chairs the Health … Read more