News

Coronavirus evolving: How mutations arise and new variants emerge

As it spreads throughout the world, the virus that causes Covid-19 has been changing. Scientists are tracking those changes, hoping to stay one step ahead of worrisome strains.
Diana Kwon Maki Naro
By Diana Kwon and Maki Naro
March 7, 2021

Illustrated by Maki Naro

media_virus-mutation-comic-01-1.png
media_virus-mutation-comic-02-1-1.png
media_virus-mutation-comic-03-1-2.pngmedia_virus-mutation-comic-03-2-3.png
media_virus-mutation-comic-04-text2.png
media_virus-mutation-comic-05-1-4.pngmedia_virus-mutation-comic-05-2-5.gif
media_virus-mutation-comic-06-1-text3.png
media_virus-mutation-comic-07-1-6.png
media_virus-mutation-comic-08-1-7.gifmedia_virus-mutation-comic-08-2-8.png
media_virus-mutation-comic-09-1-9.pngmedia_virus-mutation-comic-09-2-10.png
media_virus-mutation-comic-10-1-11.pngmedia_virus-mutation-comic-10-2-12.png
media_virus-mutation-comic-11-1-13.pngmedia_virus-mutation-comic-11-2-14.gif
media_virus-mutation-comic-12-1-14.png
media_virus-mutation-comic-13-1-15.pngmedia_virus-mutation-comic-13-1-15b.png
media_virus-mutation-comic-14-1-16.pngmedia_virus-mutation-comic-14-2-17.png
media_virus-mutation-comic-15-1-text4.png
media_virus-mutation-comic-16-1-18.pngmedia_virus-mutation-comic-16-2-19.pngmedia_virus-mutation-comic-16-3-20.png
media_virus-mutation-comic-17-1-21.pngmedia_virus-mutation-comic-17-2-21b.png
media_virus-mutation-comic-18-1-text5.png
media_virus-mutation-comic-19-1-22.pngmedia_virus-mutation-comic-19-2-23.pngmedia_virus-mutation-comic-19-3-24.png
media_virus-mutation-comic-20-1-25.pngmedia_virus-mutation-comic-20-2-26.png
media_virus-mutation-comic-21-1-27.pngmedia_virus-mutation-comic-21-2-28.png
media_virus-mutation-comic-22-1-29.pngmedia_virus-mutation-comic-22-2-30.png
 

This piece was produced in cooperation with the Nib

This article originally appeared in Knowable Magazine, an independent journalistic endeavor from Annual Reviews.

Enjoy reading ASBMB Today?

Become a member to receive the print edition four times a year and the digital edition weekly.

Learn more
Diana Kwon
Diana Kwon

Diana Kwon is a freelance science journalist based in Berlin, Germany. She primarily covers the life sciences and health, and her work has appeared in Scientific American, The Scientist, Nature, Knowable Magazine and many other publications.

Maki Naro
Maki Naro

Maki Naro  is an award-winning feral cartoonist and science communicator.

Get the latest from ASBMB Today

Enter your email address, and we’ll send you a weekly email with recent articles, interviews and more.

Latest in Science

Science highlights or most popular articles

Mutant RNA exosome protein linked to neurodevelopmental defects
Journal News

Mutant RNA exosome protein linked to neurodevelopmental defects

Feb. 4, 2025

Researchers at Emory University find that a missense mutation impairs RNA exosome assembly and translation and causes neurological disease.

Study sheds light on treatment for rare genetic disorder
News

Study sheds light on treatment for rare genetic disorder

Feb. 2, 2025

Aaron Hoskins’ lab partnered with a drug company to understand how RNA-targeting drugs work on spinal muscular atrophy, a disorder resulting from errors in production of a protein related to muscle movement.

Examining mechanisms of protein complex at a basic cell biological level
News

Examining mechanisms of protein complex at a basic cell biological level

Feb. 1, 2025

Mary Munson is co-corresponding author on a study revealing functions and mechanisms of the exocyst that are essential to how molecules move across a membrane through vesicles in a cell.

Breaking through limits in kinase inhibition
Webinar

Breaking through limits in kinase inhibition

Jan. 31, 2025

Paul Shapiro, the first speaker on ASBMB Breakthroughs, a new webinar series highlighting research from ASBMB journals, discussed taking ideas and discoveries from basic science research toward clinical applications.

How opposing metabolic pathways regulate inflammation
Journal News

How opposing metabolic pathways regulate inflammation

Jan. 28, 2025

Researchers use cybernetics to understand what happens when two acids produced by macrophages compete for binding sites on the enzyme that converts them to active products.

We are all mosaics
News

We are all mosaics

Jan. 25, 2025

Your body is a collection of cells carrying thousands of genetic mistakes accrued over a lifetime — many harmless, some bad, and at least a few that may be good for you.