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Coronavirus What is the omicron variant?
Coronavirus The omicron variant of the coronavirus in Europe
The
omicron variant of the coronavirus
,
the last that the WHO has considered "risky", has many more mutations than the delta strain, according to a first "image" of it, made and published by the Bambino Gesù hospital in Rome.
In this three-dimensional "image", similar to a cartography, "it is clear that the omicron variant has many more mutations than the delta variant [which also has a large number of mutations], concentrated mainly in one area of the protein that interacts with human cells, "the team of researchers explained in a statement published this Sunday.
"This does not automatically mean that these variations are more dangerous, simply that the virus has once again adapted to the human species, generating another variant," the researchers specify.
"Other studies will tell us if this adaptation is neutral, less dangerous or more dangerous."
The research team of the prestigious establishment Bambino Gesù focused on the search for mutations at the level of "the three-dimensional structure of the spike protein", explains to the AFP agency Claudia Alteri, professor of clinical microbiology at the University of Milan and researcher at the cited Roman hospital.
This protein, which is the part of the virus "that is studied with the most attention", is "responsible for the recognition of the human receptor and for the entry of the virus into cells."
"It is in the spike where monoclonal antibodies and, of course, vaccines act," he stresses.
The image was made "from the study of sequences of this new variant contributed to the scientific community" and mainly from "Botswana, South Africa and Hong Kong".
"This image, which represents a bit the map of all the variants, describes omicron mutations but does not define the role"
they have, according to Claudia Alteri.
"From now on, it will be important to define, through laboratory experiments, if the combination of these combinations can have an impact on transmission or on the efficacy of vaccines, for example," he says.
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