I’m not a virologist, an expert in how viruses work, or an epidemiologist, an expert in how human societies respond to them, but I can read a bit. Why is the new S African variant likely to be more dangerous? The rod-like spike proteins on the surface of SARS CoV-2 are the tip of the spear of the COVID-19 pandemic. The spikes bind to human cells via the ACE2 receptor and then dramatically change shape. They jack-knife, folding in on themselves to fuse their own membrane with the membrane of our cells. And that opens the door to coronavirus infection. … Continue reading Why is the new S African variant more dangerous and how the vaccine developed in Scotland ‘has the edge’ to stop it