The University of British Columbia announced Wednesday that it has completed the world’s first molecular-level analysis of Omicron, revealing possible reasons behind the new COVID-19 variant’s high transmissibility. With the help of a “near atomic resolution” cryo-electron microscope, UBC’s analysis revealed that Omicron’s heavy mutations and ability to evade immunity contribute to its high transmissibility, according to Dr. Sriram Subramaniam, one of the researchers. “Both the characteristics we see as a result of spike protein mutations—strong binding with human cells and increased antibody evasion—are likely contributing factors to the increased transmissibility of the Omicron variant,” said Subramaniam, a professor in the university’s faculty of medicine’s department of biochemistry and molecular biology, in an article on UBC News. “These are the underlying mechanisms fuelling the variant’s rapid spread and why Omicron could become the dominant variant of SARS-CoV-2 very quickly.” The Omicron variant has a record 37 spike protein mutations, which …