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SARS-CoV-2 | Strains, Variants, Mutants and Recombination

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The genome of SARS-CoV-2 consists of an mRNA single strand, packed at the heart of the virus, is the primary construct for its replication. The sequence contains information necessary for constructing the viral machinery proteins by the process known as translation. Below is an image showing the several viral proteins coded by the genetic material that is present in the virus [ ref ].   The physical structure of the virus that is made by several proteins is shown in the image [ ref ]. These proteins make up the structural machinery of the protein. The remaining viral machinery are called non-structural proteins (NSP) that are necessary for functions such as polymerization, inhibition, proof reading and many other that allow the virus to infect and replicate in host organisms. The use of the terms mutants, variants and strains have become quite frequent in the news that we hear today. These phenomenon occur due to the process called recombination . Simply put, recombination i...

Science in action: Is it the end of coronavirus?

Science is the cognitive thought of a pack of beings. It will never stop being pursued even if ONE wants it to. The progression of science is to mold it into something new every day. Science is always intriguing when it is new. The coronavirus pandemic struck the global earth population like the plague in a rat's nest. Today, an year after the origin of this invisible enemy, after millions lost their life in the spike of this universal antagonist, there is a ray of hope that everyone has been eagerly waiting for. Science has paved its research into a source of global calm. Vaccines are in their final stages of approval and have already begun being administered to the global population in order to prepare the human immune system to wage the bloody war . Several preventive-cure, vaccines for the COVID pandemic have been brought to light. --- Popular vaccines in order of their approval and human administration are: 1. Sputnik V - (DNA of a SARS-CoV-2 type adenovirus)     ...

The economy can be fixed tomorrow but not the world we live in

Albeit the war on the invisible enemy rages on, it is worthwhile to rethink our economy and discuss the preservation of this home planet for the better living of our future generations. In this world where the rich become richer and the poor remain poor, there is very little concern from our fellow people about the impact of human activities on mother nature. Yes, the rich and the governments are responsible for all the bigotry within us, but let us rethink a simple relationship that strains our environment. The root cause for the surge in our impact on this environment is by overpopulation. The poor are densely populated seeking jobs that are not existent and the rich are sparsely populated determined not to share their wealth. This increases the dependence of both populations on nature to provide a better home.  Now imagine a selected small area that is so densely populated that any good change brought about here can have a large impact on most environmental problems around the g...

Balance: Part 1

The blue planet is a sustainable and suitable living space provided to all living species shielded by the balance that is being maintained by nature. For a long time, I have been poking at the subject of a balance that nature is trying to preserve. This balance is a sort of dynamic equilibrium, a consort of energies defining the philosophical capacity of any entity at a particular time. Most spiritual learnings have come to understand the belief that one reaps what they sow. Likewise, nature would treat one the same way they treat her. This helps constitute the philosophical balance.  Every member of the earth's biodiversity constitutes a balance in nature. The presence of an entity in this universe is balanced by the absence of another. Though scientifically not comprehensible yet, from our past, we humans tend to understand and observe the work of mother nature. She cares for those who need it and shelters those who don't.  With power also comes responsibility. The bala...

Nature's diplomacy

The surface area of the earth is about half a billion square kilometres. Mother nature brought humans into existence on this expanse and allowed them to co-exist with her other creations. Over the years, humans have become adept to tackle the forces of nature and have evolved into civilised beings. However, the civilisation has run its course. Time has shown that mankind is not just a substantial threat to his surroundings but to himself also. Current environmental affairs such as the flaring pandemic, climate change, biodiversity loss and others are a consequence of humans disturbing the balance that nature tries to protect. The balance by nature will be restored at any cost, even if it has to be the end of humanity as we know it, but this is obviously not something we strive for. We have been given opportunities to mend our ways and it is time to learn about our impact on the balance. The governments and leaders who lead the politically divided nations should stand united to pr...

Global lockdown: Who all stand to benifit?

It is true that humans are having one of the worst years in recent history and it is majorly caused by the coronavirus pandemic. China is a huge player in this current global situation. An openly known secret is that they have been covering up any traces leading back to some undisclosed truth. Whether the virus is a successful manmade attempt to bring about a global economic crisis, an unethical human trial gone rouge or a man-made bioweapon are all speculations only until we know what is needed to be uncovered. Currently, China ranks quite poorly on total cases of COVID-19 which seems to be surprising since it is the origin of the virus and the only country which stands to benefit largely from the situation economically and diplomatically. The situation also provides a strategic advantage to the country in altering global demographics. It is false to understand that China is a proven culprit behind the flaring virus but they have piqued enough dominos to gamble out theories which ar...

The bloody war of 2020

Today, the SARS-CoV-2 has spread to about 210 countries with close to 3 million active cases. Of those cases that have obtained an outcome, 81% of the patients have recovered but the remaining have failed to survive the dreaded coronavirus pandemic. It has been observed that patients aged over 65 years, those with lowered immunity or any chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension are more susceptible to death caused due to COVID-19. Of the active cases today, about 3% face severity in the symptoms of the illness and are moved to critical units for observation and recovery. Although these numbers provide us with a general trend to analyse the nature of infection by the virus, it is not accurate and does not entirely provide the actual picture. Reasons for this include insufficient testing, non-inclusion of fatalities without testing, scenarios where governments refrain from testing or providing information and also specific cases like the incorrect number of cases reported ...