professionals. Viruses I believe mutate in ways to make it easier for them to complete their goal of infecting cells and reproducing. When they do mutate is that a early sign that they are being beaten? Using the example of the new strain in England. They say it's 70% more transmissible and doesn't cause any more severe illness. Nobody that I've heard from thinks the vaccines will be less effective due to the vaccine. Some say the mutation may make the vaccines more effective.
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Last: 5 yr ago by ramblin_ag02
It's just natural selection. Do you remember the lesson in high school biology about the moths in england? They used to be all white, and blend into the snow, making them hard for birds to see and eat. Then the industrial revolution happened and suddenly the snow was dirty and the white moths stood out. The moths that had specs on them now blended in better and the proportion of white to speckled moths shifted.
The virus develops random mutations over time. A mutation may give that virus a reproductive or transmissability advantage that allows it to become a more predominant strain, or the mutation may do the opposite and the strain will die out.
So to answer you question, it's like the moths. It doesn't necessarily mean it's being beaten. That strain may already exist and be propogating around for months. But like the birds and moths, something may have shifted to favor it becoming more predominant.
The virus develops random mutations over time. A mutation may give that virus a reproductive or transmissability advantage that allows it to become a more predominant strain, or the mutation may do the opposite and the strain will die out.
So to answer you question, it's like the moths. It doesn't necessarily mean it's being beaten. That strain may already exist and be propogating around for months. But like the birds and moths, something may have shifted to favor it becoming more predominant.
Bigtruckguy already nailed it. I would just add that viruses mutate much more often than anything else. Higher level organisms like humans have mechanisms to prevent mutations and to correct them if they happen. Viruses have none of that and their enzymes are notorious for screwing up way more than ours.
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