Recently, the news about Boston University creating a new type of virus became a red-hot topic. It is said that the virus has a lethality rate of 80 percent. Is it true?
The news spread as a study done by Boston University was published as a preprint on Oct. 14. But it isn’t as scary as people think, because the data is from animal models, not from human trials. However, I still disagree with this type of “gain-of-function” research because it brings a lot of unpredictable risks.
As we all know, the SARS-CoV-2 virus mutates quickly. One of those mutations resulted in Omicron this year. While its transmission rate has increased significantly, the pathogenicity has decreased significantly. Scientists hope to study Omicron thoroughly to find better treatment strategies….