Actually, mutation is not a bad word

Chinese social networking sites were busy on Wednesday night following news that the "novel coronavirus has mutated".The National Science Review, a domestic academic journal, published a paper on Tuesday detailing the findings of a Chinese research team, which found that the novel coronavirus had evolved into two sub-types, named L and S.

Panic and fear were evident as users shared the news online. Maybe what disturbed them most was the word "mutation", as it must have reminded them of Train to Busan, a Korean movie about an outbreak that turns most humans into flesh-eating zombies as a man and his daughter take a fast train from Seoul to Busan.

However, mutations happen everyday; viruses, bacteria, all kinds of microbes and even animals undergo them. Research shows that in an average person, somatic cells undergo thousands of genetic mutations every day.

Not all mutations have positive or negative effects. In fact a majority of them have little or no effect on the mutated cell. Very few cells undergo changes in character, and changes that can turn a virus into a super-virus are even rarer.

In the study, the researchers identified 149 mutations, but did not report any major changes in character. So there is no need to worry unduly about the development.

However, it is always good to be alert. The discovery of the two sub-types of the virus is an important development. The study also says that the L-subtype, which might be more aggressive, was more common among patients when the epidemic first broke out in Wuhan. But instances of the S type, which is older and less aggressive, have increased in frequency recently. A possible reason for that, according to the study, is human intervention, in the absence of which, the authors say, the L subtype could have become more aggressive and spread even faster.

If this is confirmed, it might help doctors know more about the effectiveness of their strategy, and target more precisely the S-type in future treatments.