Dr Emma Hodcroft Profile picture
Sep 25, 2020 β€’ 4 tweets β€’ 2 min read β€’ Read on X
Is #SARSCoV2 #COVID19 evolving to bypass masks & hand-washing??

Good news - No! These measures physically remove πŸ§ΌπŸ‘πŸΌ or trap 😷 the virus so it never reaches you. These basically can't be evolved around. So keep up the mask-waring & hand-washing - it *is* protecting you!
Ah, you'd like more detail? Sure! The 'mutation' referenced is 'D614G' - it arose in Jan (long time ago!) & we've known about it for months. It's actually the variant that most ppl in Europe & many in the US already had!

So why are scientists still looking at it?
There is evidence the D614G mutation *may* slightly increase transmissibility. Studies in cell culture & looking at the virus structure think it might be /better at bonding to cells/.

That means it has to get to a cell before that mutation can have an effect!
So if you are keeping the virus away from you (& your cells) with mask-wearing & hand-washing, you're just as protected as ever - regardless of the mutation!

The mutation *definitely* doesn't make the virus better at avoiding these things - so lets all keep doing them!

β€’ β€’ β€’

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More from @firefoxx66

Sep 7, 2023
I'm excited to announce a new paper with @MLReichmuth and @C_Althaus, out now in @PLOSPathogens!

We used phylogenetics & modelling to investigate the introduction & expansion of #SARSCoV2 Alpha & Delta variants into #Switzerland & to simulate different interventions.

1/17 Image
First, we wanted to estimate the number of times Alpha & Delta were introduced into Switzerland before they were dominant.
For this we used sequences: we looked for where Swiss Alpha/Delta seqs descend from non-Swiss sequences - coming to Switzerland from elsewhere.

2/17
We looked at two ways of counting these introductions:

Liberal: every Swiss sequence coming from non-Swiss sequences is an introduction
Conservative: only the first Swiss sequence in a subtree of mixed-Swiss-non-Swiss sequences is an introduction

3/17 Image
Read 17 tweets
Jun 15, 2023
Benevolent dictators have no place in academic science.

I don't care if they usually make the right decision. Or if people don't think they've abused their power yet.

Science should not depend on one person being well-behaved.
Balance should be built in, power distributed.

1/5
"If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together" the African proverb says.

Can driven, visionary people start up groundbreaking ideas & cut through barriers to implement them? Absolutely! This 100% is part of science.

2/5
But if you want your idea to be a keystone of science communities & the public, you have to make it about more than *you*.

If you want to run a private business, go do that.
If you want to be keystone of public science, you have to be transparent, trustworthy, & stable.

3/5
Read 5 tweets
Apr 28, 2023
πŸŽ‰CoVariants.org Update!πŸŽ‰

23B (XBB.1.16) is now available on CoVariants! It's visible as part of Per Country & Per Variant plots, on the shared mutation page - and of course, has a page of its own.

1/10

#XBB116 #23B #Arcturus
πŸ“· Image
This is in line with the recent addition of 23B (XBB.1.16) as a @nextstrain clade - read more on that below πŸ‘‡πŸ»!

2/10

As I covered earlier, 23B (XBB.1.16) is descended from the recombinant 22F (XBB) variant, with some additional mutations. You can read more about how it evolved & acquired those mutations below πŸ‘‡πŸ».

3/10

Read 10 tweets
Apr 20, 2023
A Q I've seen: "How did this stay quiet so long?"

Quote from the article:
"Many sources who spoke to Science declined to be named out of fear of legal action from Bogner or of losing GISAID access."

Scientists depend on GISAID access. Fear is powerful.

science.org/content/articl…
Also from this article:
'Marion Koopmans ... says she has received multiple calls from Bognerβ€œwith a rather intimidating tone.” So have colleagues, she adds. β€œI have heard similar experiences from quite a few.”'
And:
"And Science heard many stories about researchers who saw their data curtailed, or cut off, without explanation. Some linked the actions to their being critical of GISAID or being seen as a potential threat."
Read 8 tweets
Apr 4, 2023
If you're an early career researcher (yes even 'just' a PhD student!) 1 of my biggest pieces of advice would be:
Go claim/create your Google Scholar page!! πŸ‘ˆπŸ»βœοΈπŸ»

I put this off bc I thought I 'didn't have enough on it'. I also generally thought "nobody is looking for me".

1/4
Now that I'm (a little) on the other end, I see how wrong I was.

It's *just fine* to not have "much" in your Google Scholar profile - anyone worth their salt will be evaluating you relative to your career state.
Much more important: to be findable!

2/4
And alongside that: it's so useful to have an easy way for people to see what your field is & what you've been up to/who you work with/your expertise.

Google Scholar is also pretty easy to maintain (will vary depending on how unique your name is), as it auto-updates.

3/4
Read 6 tweets
Feb 14, 2023
πŸŽ‰ CoVariants.org Update! πŸŽ‰

23A (XBB.1.5) is now available on CoVariants! It's visible as part of Per Country & Per Variant plots, on the shared mutation page - and of course, has a page of its own.

1/9

#XBB15 #23A Image
This is in line with the recent addition of 23A (XBB.1.5) as a @nextstrain clade - read more on that below πŸ‘‡πŸ»!

2/9

As I covered earlier, 23A (XBB.1.5) is descended from the recombinant 22F (XBB) variant, with some additional mutations. You can read more about how it evolved & acquired those mutations below πŸ‘‡πŸ».

3/9

Read 10 tweets

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