Omicron's molecular structure could help explain its global takeover
Source: Nature
After it was first detected in South Africa last November, Omicron spread around the globe faster than any previous variant of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, readily infecting even those who had been vaccinated or previously had COVID-19. To learn how it was able to do this, scientists have turned to techniques such as cryo-electron microscopy, to visualize Omicron’s molecular structure at near-atomic resolution.
By comparing the variant’s structure with that of the original version of SARS-CoV-2, they have begun to shed light on which features of the highly mutated virus have enabled it to evade the body’s immune defences, while also maintaining its ability to attack a person’s cells. And they’ve begun to unpick why Omicron seems to cause milder disease than previous variants.
“Omicron is very different structurally than all the other variants we have known so far,” says Priyamvada Acharya, a structural biologist at the Duke Human Vaccine Institute in Durham, North Carolina.
Cont'd.
LINK:
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00292-3