As evidence mounts that the omicron variant is less deadly than prior COVID-19 strains, one oft-cited explanation is that viruses always evolve to become less virulent over time. The problem, experts ...

Mutations can result in viruses that infect cells, but can't copy themselves without help from other viruses - now it seems ...

Helen Branswell covers issues broadly related to infectious diseases, including outbreaks, preparedness, research, and vaccine development. Follow her on Mastodon and Bluesky. You can reach Helen on ...

A phylogenetic tree of SARS-CoV-2 sequences, built with Nextstrain, displays sequences colored by their clade and organized by collection date. Over time, sequences mutate and diverge, forming new ...

Combined infection with bird flu and human flu could lead to mutations of new viruses that could have dangerous public health consequences, agencies have warned. This is following the news that ...

The bird flu virus strain that is rampant among dairy cows in the U.S. may only need one mutation for it to be able to spread among humans, according to a study published this week. Scientists said ...