Couple randomly attacked, 1 stabbed, by group of teens in Toronto, police say
A man has been transported to hospital after police say he was stabbed in a random attack carried out by a group of teens in Toronto on Friday night.
Scientists around the world are racing to learn more about the newly discovered B.1.1.529 coronavirus variant, now known as Omicron, to see how it compares to other variants of concern.
The important questions – like how transmissible it is, how good it is at evading immunity from vaccines or past illness, and whether it causes more severe illness – remain to be answered.
While some scientists say it will be weeks before we get a clear picture of how Omicron will impact the pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday it expects to have more information on the transmissibility of the variant within days.
What we do know about this variant is that it contains more than 30 mutations in the spike protein, which allows it to bind to human cells and gain entry to the body – a factor that has elevated concerns for some scientists.
First, it’s important to remember that mutations to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, have been expected since the early days of the pandemic. That’s because mutations always arise as viruses spread – it’s how they ensure their own survival.
According to researchers from Yale University, SARS-CoV-2 gains access to our cells using its “corona” – a layer of protein spikes that fit into our cells like a lock and key – where it makes copies of its genomes.
But during that process, errors are inevitably introduced into the code, causing a mutation or variant.
Sometimes those mutations are harmless. But other times, like in the case of the Delta variant, the virus can change to become more transmissible or cause more severe illness.
“What we have seen with other viruses is, over time, they mutate in various ways. And one of the ways that they can mutate is to actually get a little bit less severe because there's a bit of a fitness cost to the virus,” Dr. Susy Hota, infectious disease expert at Toronto’s University Health Network told CTV’s Your Morning Wednesday.
“If it starts to kill off its hosts a little bit too early, it just won't replicate. And that's the goal of a virus, is to make more copies of itself and persist over time.”
Hota notes that COVID-19 has held its advantage with previous variants because it tends to have infections that last for quite a while, giving it plenty of opportunity to spread from person to person.
The variant’s genome, in total, has around 50 mutations, including those in the spike protein, according to the British Medical Journal (BMJ). Scientists say it hasn’t directly evolved from the Delta variant and contains characteristic changes found in the Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta variants.
“This variant carries some changes we’ve seen previously in other variants but never altogether in one virus. It also has novel mutations that we’ve not seen before,” Lawrence Young, a virologist and professor of molecular oncology at Warwick Medical School, told the BMJ in a briefing published Monday.
Another distinguishing note is that one of Omicron’s mutations leads to “S gene target failure” – also referred to as “S gene dropout” – meaning one of several areas of the gene that are targeted by PCR testing gives a false negative.
“In one PCR test, three different genes are monitored. However, one of the S gene targets is not detected due to the mutations,” Chris Richardson, Microbiology and Immunology professor at the University of Dalhousie, said in a release issued Tuesday.
“This is called S gene dropout or S gene target failure, which is actually helpful and is diagnostic of omicron. The dropout is a marker for this variant.”
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Omicron has been detected at faster rates than previous surges in infection using this approach.
But researchers in South Africa first sounded the alarm over the B.1.1.529 variant after finding more than 30 mutations in the spike protein – a far greater number than what we’ve seen with any other variant.
Because the spike protein is the target of antibodies that our immune system produces to fight COVID-19, a high number of mutations raises concerns that Omicron may be able to evade the antibodies produced by a previous COVID-19 infection or vaccination.
“The spike protein of the virus is really important for entry into cells, as well as targets for antibodies that help to control infections. So, it's possible, scientifically, looking at the virus that it could be more transmissible than what we've seen so far,” Hota explained.
“It also could result in what we call immune evasion — in other words, your immune system may not be able to control it as well, so you may be susceptible to more reinfections or vaccines maybe a little less effective.”
But Hota says these are merely hypotheses and we should be careful not to draw any conclusions from speculation or anecdotal reports about the severity of illness or transmissibility of Omicron at this stage.
“I think we need to see it in a larger number of people to get a good sense of how it compares to what we've seen so far with COVID 19,” she said.
A man has been transported to hospital after police say he was stabbed in a random attack carried out by a group of teens in Toronto on Friday night.
Ron Ellis, who played over 1,000 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and was a member of Canada's team at the 1972 Summit Series, has died at age 79.
The wildfire that prompted the evacuation of more than 3,000 people near Fort Nelson, B.C., was caused by a tree falling on wires, according to the municipality's mayor.
The final of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest kicked off Saturday in the Swedish city of Malmo after days of protests and offstage drama that have tipped the feelgood musical celebration into a chaotic pressure cooker overshadowed by the war in Gaza.
From London, to Grand Bend, Collingwood and Guelph, here are some highlights of Friday night and Saturday morning's northern lights display.
The rolling hills leading to the hamlet of Rosebud are dotted with sprawling farms and cattle pastures -- and a sign sporting a simple message: No Race Track.
Irresponsibly using a credit card can land you in financial trouble, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew says when used properly, it can be a powerful wealth-building tool that can help grow your credit profile and create new opportunities.
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
A growing number of civilians and police officers are demanding the dismissal and arrest of Haiti's police chief as heavily armed gangs launched a new attack in the capital of Port-au-Prince, seizing control of yet another police station early Saturday.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.