Explained | Understanding the new Omicron variant of coronavirus
The Hindu
What is Omicron? How is it different from the other variants? Where all has the B.1.1.529 coronavirus variant been detected?
A new lineage of SARS-CoV-2 has been identified in samples sequenced and deposited in public domain from Botswana, South Africa and Hong Kong and was assigned as B.1.1.529. The variant has been designated as a Variant of Concern (VoC) by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and has been named Omicron.
The Omicron variant is interesting due to the fact that it has a large number of mutations compared to other prevalent variants circulating across the world. This includes 32 mutations in the spike protein. Many of these mutations lie in the receptor-binding domain of the spike protein, a key part of the protein required for binding to the human receptor proteins for entry into the cell, and thus may play an important role in recognition by antibodies generated due to a previous infection or by vaccines.
A crowd comprising farmers, researchers, professors, students, and horticulture enthusiasts thronged the ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Hesaraghatta, Bengaluru, on Friday for the inaugural ceremony of the Triphal Diversity Show which showcased 300 mango, 100 jackfruit, and 100 banana genotypes in collaboration with ICAR-National Research Centre for Banana, Tiruchirappalli.
The State government on Friday constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by Additional Director-General of Police, Manish Kharbikar of the Economic Offences division of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to probe the alleged multi-crore scam in the government-run Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation.