• Likely originated in bats, close to the original SARS in phylogeny
• is it mutating? Yes, but at a much lower rate than the seasonal flu. What they are seeing in the genomes is expected based on random mutations
• Sequencing of genomes is clustering by region, creating a founder effect in that genetic variation in the genome is now associated with geography
• There is currently no selection of a "milder" strain of SARS-CoV-19 to increase the viral spread
• Not seeing much adaption ongoing in humans, although one cluster found in Singapore does suggest a deletion in ORF8 which is often associated with mutation in humans in other coronaviruses

Ranger222 said:

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Wanted to highlight this video from Vaughn Cooper, a professor of evolutionary microbiology at Pitt that tries to answer some basic questions. He is one of the best at what he does.



Some quick highlights:

• Likely originated in bats, close to the original SARS in phylogeny
• is it mutating? Yes, but at a much lower rate than the seasonal flu. What they are seeing in the genomes is expected based on random mutations
• Sequencing of genomes is clustering by region, creating a founder effect in that genetic variation in the genome is now associated with geography
• There is currently no selection of a "milder" strain of SARS-CoV-19 to increase the viral spread
• Not seeing much adaption ongoing in humans, although one cluster found in Singapore does suggest a deletion in ORF8 which is often associated with mutation in humans in other coronaviruses

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cisgenderedAggie said:

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cone said:

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this video didn't really say anything about two strains being something that's happening

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That's because it isn't something that's happening. That came from a sloppy paper that used very limited and early sample size and substantially over-interpreted the implications of the result.

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cisgenderedAggie said:

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cone said:

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this video didn't really say anything about two strains being something that's happening

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That's because it isn't something that's happening. That came from a sloppy paper that used very limited and early sample size and substantially over-interpreted the implications of the result.

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cisgenderedAggie said:

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cone said:

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this video didn't really say anything about two strains being something that's happening

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That's because it isn't something that's happening. That came from a sloppy paper that used very limited and early sample size and substantially over-interpreted the implications of the result.

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Azariah said:

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cisgenderedAggie said:

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cone said:

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this video didn't really say anything about two strains being something that's happening

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That's because it isn't something that's happening. That came from a sloppy paper that used very limited and early sample size and substantially over-interpreted the implications of the result.

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I've seen the paper from NSR and Oxford saying there are two strains, but I haven't seen anything saying it's a sloppy paper. Do you have a source for that?

https://academic.oup.com/nsr/advance-article/doi/10.1093/nsr/nwaa036/5775463#authorNotesSectionTitle

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