find_your_zen t1_iss58ac wrote on October 18, 2022 at 9:01 AM

Reply to comment by [deleted] in Boston University researchers claim to have developed new, more lethal COVID strain in lab - Researchers at Boston University added a spike protein from the Omicron variant with the original Wuhan strain, which has an 80% kill rate (in certain mice) by izumi3682

Gain of function is not limited to lethality. It could have killed 20% fewer mice but spread 300% more efficiently, as omicron did.The article doesn't mention if they gaged the spread.

TichuBum t1_isu6cvx wrote on October 18, 2022 at 6:55 PM

Interesting. Thanks for explaining. Still seems to fall way short of creating “the most contagious and deadly strain of covid” as suggested above, but I do appreciate that explanation.