The omicron variant is surging. More contagious than delta, omicron demonstrates how viruses use mutations to quickly adapt.
Mutations drive evolution, although most don’t do much. But occasionally a mutation improves an organism. Omicron, the latest in a string of variants, is bad for us, but good for the virus.
How mutation of viruses ensures their own survival while threatening ours, and the prospect of a universal vaccine that would protect us against all a viruses’ variants.
Guests:
Robert Garry – Professor of microbiology and virologist in the Tulane University School of Medicine
Kevin Saunders – Professor in the Duke University School of Medicine’s Human Vaccine Institute and professor of surgery
Featuring music by Dewey Dellay.
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Attack of the Mutants | Big Picture Science podcast - Listen or read transcript on Metacast
