First close-up image of B.1.1.7 variant released
Canadian researchers have published the first structural images of a mutation in the B.1.1.7 variant of the Covid-19 virus that may explain why it has proved far more infectious than the previous strain, causing a rapid rise in cases.
The B.1.1.7 variant, first reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) in mid-december last year, has an unusually large number of mutations.
“The pictures, taken at nearatomic resolution, provide critical insight as to why the B.1.1.7 variant... is more infectious,” University of British Columbia (UBC) said in a statement.
TORONTO:
The research team, led by Dr Sriram Subramaniam, professor in UBC’S department of biochemistry and molecular biology, found of “particular interest” a mutation known as “N501Y” located on the coronavirus’s spike protein. “The images we captured provide the first structural glimpse of the N501Y mutant and show that the changes resulting from the mutation are localised,” he said.
To “visualise the detailed shapes of viruses and proteins”, the research team used cryoelectron microscopes called cryo-em that can be up to 12 feet high, and the imaging technology uses beams of electrons to picture the samples at liquid nitrogen temperatures. machinery has broken down in West Bengal, warranting an imposition of President’s Rule in the state, besides immediate deployment of central police forces and an independent judicial probe into the violence.
The matters are yet to get listed for a hearing by the court.
While Bhatia has filed an application in a pending petition filed by him in 2018, Indic Collective has filed a fresh public interest litigation (PIL).
Bhatia filed his petition in 2018 against the political killings of leaders and workers of the BJP. The apex court had in March 2019 noted that charge sheets had already been filed in two out of these three cases and declined to interfere. Bhatia has now filed an application seeking a CBI investigation into the violence and a directive to the West Bengal government for producing a status report on FIRS registered and arrests made so far.
The PIL by Indic Collective, drawn by advocate J Sai Deepak and filed through advocate Suvidutt MS, has emphasised on the need for an urgent intervention from the top court. The PIL claimed that the state government has neglected its duties to either pass any directions to the police authorities or to take any other measures to maintain law and order. cine supply chain,” said Dr K Srinath Reddy, founder, Public Health Foundation of India.
Last month, the University of Oxford said it paused administering doses of the Covid-19 vaccine it developed with Astrazeneca in a UK study to test the shot in children after reports of blood-clotting events in adults.
Both SII and Bharat Biotech did not comment on the matter.
But given that young people are mobile, that many of them live in multi-generational households in India, and that India has more people under the age of 18 than the entire population of the US, UK and France, the country has to work with vaccine developers to come up with a plan for young people soon.
Some countries have realized this. Israel has crushed the pandemic with vaccination — the positivity rate of infections dropped to 0.1% earlier this week (there were no deaths) — but is yet to open up fully because it realizes that it is yet to vaccinate people under the age of 16.
Right now, the country has extended its Covid-19 passport system to children, allowing them to visit malls, cinemas, restaurants and other public spaces based on a negative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) Covid-19 report.
Experts say that there is a need for data on how the vaccine works in children, even as India’s hospital data from national Covid registry shows higher number of children are affected in the second wave as compared to the first.
“We need quick data and some analysis of risk-benefit for both children and pregnant women,” said Dr Randeep Guleria, director, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi.
“When you start your trial, you want to keep it clean, and gradually add on more categories,” added Dr Reddy.