Omicron

[Cronk]

what kind of accent are those people using!? british?

Might be Australian or New Zealand

 

[Isaac]

Different sides of the same coin. It's actually a crap shoot. Some mutations are beneficial Some are detrimental. Some are indifferent. All of them COULD lead to diversification. But the detrimental ones probably won't. The catch is that there are levels of diversification. When Man descended from the trees, we began a path of speciation that led to us being different from (and non-fertile with) our primate cousins. However, the diverse appearance of humans that is often incorrectly referred to as "race" is in fact not due to race. (Proof? Grandchildren of mixed marriages are fertile and still produce human children.)

By contrast, consider the mule, which is the mating of a male donkey and a female horse. Most mules are sterile because the two "parents" have different numbers of chromosomes (one has 62, the other has 64). But both descended from their common ancestor, eohippus.

The corona virus family includes lots of animal diseases but also hits humans with the common cold, SARS, MERS, COVID-19, ... this list goes on. They are all different but they all affect the human respiratory system.

Interesting, thanks

 

[oleronesoftwares]

Is the normal way that viruses mutate to overcome their prey...is it comparable to the same type of thing people are talking about when they talk about the theory that genetic mutations gave rise to specie diversification?
I honestly don't know..just asking.

You are correct,viruses can mutate to overcome their prey, mutation is a way of it to be unpredictable to the host

 

[Dave E]

Is the normal way that viruses mutate to overcome their prey...is it comparable to the same type of thing people are talking about when they talk about the theory that genetic mutations gave rise to specie diversification?
I honestly don't know..just asking.

Viruses don't deliberately 'overcome' their hosts as that is self-destructive. Sadly, for the virus, by gaining entry to survive they are, in a lot of cases, unwittingly killing their hosts.

There are organisms that can thrive on another organism without detriment to either.
I'm sure that species do diversify by gene mutation as they fight to survive local environmental conditions to leave those who are successful carry on breeding while the unsuccessful fall by the wayside.

It is evidenced by the way there are subtle differences in similar species in isolated locations and environments. (Called adaptive radiation).

I think evolution from the beginning of time on earth is the only rational theory at the moment although I'm prepared to change my mind if something happens to provide a better one.

 

[oleronesoftwares]

Viruses don't deliberately 'overcome' their hosts

I think viruses main aim is to make the host body their home, so whatever needs to be done is done, sometimes it might mean harming the host, sometimes it might not lead to harming the host.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

One can actually look at the Omicron variant as a shining example of adaptive evolution. Considering the concept of "overwhelming the host"...

Omicron at least APPEARS to be (a) faster spreading than other strains and yet (b) milder. As viewed through the survivability filter, it is better than other variants (because transmits faster) yet not fatal to large numbers of hosts (cf. Delta variant, which is a killer) so doesn't kill its transmission vector - humans. Thus, in terms of "survival of the fittest" the Omicron variant is more of a survivor than the Delta variant. It will hang around longer and yet not kill its victim. Which is why the common cold is so hard to eradicate, because it does the same thing.

Let's compare this to the "Mu" variant.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Overview

COVID-19 is a new type of coronavirus that causes mild to severe cases. Here’s a quick guide on how to spot symptoms, risk factors, prevent spread of the disease, and find out what to do if you think you have it.

www.webmd.com

The differences between Mu and Delta were that Mu seemed to evade the vaccines - but it had a disadvantageous transmission mechanism. It remains to be seen whether getting Delta conferred natural immunity to Mu, but someone will eventually publish that paper, I'm sure. So the World Health Organization looked at Mu but it kind of became a non-starter - which is probably why none of the major news media picked up anything about Mu.

 

[Isaac]

I just hadn't heard much before about viruses mutating as being the same thing as the theory of evolution where supposedly a one in a trillion mutation happened often enough to change species etc etc. But that doesn't mean much, as I pay little attention to the issue.

I CAN confirm that I have been host to creatures in my home that were destructive, though. Fortunately they left prior to mutating...altho I didn't test fate by waiting "billions and billions of years", that magic wand phrase that is meant to induce the hearer to nod and say 'well yes, I suppose anything might be possible there'..

 

[The_Doc_Man]

@Isaac - yeah, my grandkids don't live with us any more either. But now that they've grown up a bit, they aren't quite so destructive.

Yes, virus mutation is a part of and a demonstration of evolution. just remember, species evolution is rarer than variant strain evolution because of the number of mutations required to change species - but it happens. Since viruses are asexual, they HAVE to rely on mutations. We who reproduce sexually have an automated gene-shuffler built-in.