Virus evolution could undermine a COVID-19 vaccine – but this can be stopped

As viruses are transmitted from person to person they are constantly mutating and replicating. Could the SARS-CoV-2 virus evolve to evade the new vaccines that have just been developed?

David Kennedy, Assistant Professor of Biology, Penn State • conversation
Nov. 17, 2020 • ~8 min

A massive public health effort eradicated smallpox but scientists are still studying the deadly virus

The smallpox virus appears to have been with humanity for millennia before a global vaccination drive wiped it out. Current genome research suggests how smallpox spread and where it came from.

Patricia L. Foster, Professor Emerita of Biology, Indiana University • conversation
June 24, 2020 • ~12 min

The coronavirus genome is like a shipping label that lets epidemiologists track where it's been

Every time the virus copies itself it makes mistakes, creating a trail that researchers can use to build a family tree with information about where it's traveled, and when.

Taylor Carter, PhD Student in Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina • conversation
April 27, 2020 • ~8 min

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