DNA, COVID-19, and How You Can Get Involved in Research
When some people are exposed to the novel coronavirus, they have little to no symptoms while other people have severe effects. Age seems to be a contributing factor, but not the only one. Doctors and researchers don't know why (yet).
Could there be genetic differences to explain it? We don't know yet, and the answer could either be yes or no.
23andMe announced yesterday it is trying to assist with COVID-19 research, so follow the hyperlink to read more if you or those you know have been a 23andMe tester in the past and want to participate in the research (filling out an online survey). They will enroll people who test positive for the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and those who don't.
I love the attitude that the best-case scenario is that the pandemic comes to an end long before they have enough participants to learn the answer.
Interested in more news about coronavirus research? Access articles at these recommended sources:
- This Wired article gives great coverage of the 23andMe’s entrance into COVID-19 research and limitations of its genotype testing and association studies, compared to other more complete DNA tests like whole genome sequencing.
- Wall Street Journal subscribers can access an article about COVID-19 research here (non-subscribers can read it if they sign up for an account to receive a limited number of free articles each month).
- New York Times has made subscriptions to coronavirus-related articles free. Access more information here.
- DNA research on the virus itself is helping us understand its spread and infectivity more. NPR has a recent article here.