RCMP uncovers alleged plot by 2 Montreal men to illegally sell drones, equipment to Libya
The RCMP says it has uncovered a plot by two men in Montreal to sell Chinese drones and military equipment to Libya illegally.
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.
The RCMP says it has uncovered a plot by two men in Montreal to sell Chinese drones and military equipment to Libya illegally.
A group of demonstrators were kicked out of the legislature after a second NDP motion calling for unanimous consent to reverse a ban on the keffiyeh failed to pass.
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
The U.S. Justice Department announced a US$138.7 million settlement Tuesday with more than 100 people who accused the FBI of grossly mishandling allegations of sexual assault against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016, a critical time gap that allowed the sports doctor to continue to prey on victims before his arrest.
A 35-year-old man wanted in connection with the murder of Toronto resident 29-year-old Sharmar Powell-Flowers nine months ago has topped the list of the BOLO program’s 25 most wanted fugitives across Canada, police announced Tuesday.
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.
Canadian pet owners are finding companionship beyond dogs and cats. Tigers, alligators, scorpions and tarantulas are among some of the exotic pets they are keeping in private homes, which pose risks to public safety and animal welfare, advocates say.
Police in the U.K. are searching for a group of suspects seen on video using a forklift to steal a cash machine from a bank.
A tower crane operator alerted emergency crews after noticing a fire on a construction site in Halifax Tuesday morning.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a Grade 4 student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.