Noah Baker and Richard Van Noorden discuss the latest coronavirus variant

In a quickly developing story a new variant, first detected in Botswana, is triggering rapid action among researchers. The variant - currently named B.1.1.529 has more than 30 changes to the spike protein - and the concern is that these mutations may result in increased transmissibility, severity of disease or even antibody evasion.

In this episode of Coronapod, we discuss what we know so far, how scientists are searching for answers and what this could mean for the pandemic.

News: Heavily mutated coronavirus variant puts scientists on alert

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