Tag Archives: strains

From escape mutations to wild strains: Here’s everything you need to know about Covid variants

This transmission electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2—also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus that causes COVID-19. isolated from a patient in the U.S., emerging from the surface of cells cultured in the lab. Source: NIAID-RML Even as the number of global Covid-19 infections drops across the world, leading U.S. health officials are warning of a coming… Read More »

Individualized mosaics of microbial strains transfer from the maternal to the infant gut

Microbial communities in the intestine — also known as the gut microbiome — are vital for human digestion, metabolism and resistance to colonization by pathogens. The gut microbiome composition in infants and toddlers changes extensively in the first three years of life. But where do those microbes come from in the first place? Scientists have… Read More »