'The hope is we're not caught off guard' again, B.C. researcher says of discovery of 9 new coronavirus species
A team of researchers led by a British Columbia university has uncovered several new species of coronavirus, some of which were found in unexpected places such as animal dung.
The discoveries, outlined in a news release Wednesday from the University of British Columbia, were made by a former UBC post-doctoral research fellow, who led an international team in an analysis of ribonucleic acid (RNA) sequencing data.rib
Artem Babaian led the study of 20 million gigabytes of gene sequence data, dubbed the Serratus Project. This data came from 5.7 million biological samples, UBC said.
"We’re entering a new era of understanding the genetic and spatial diversity of viruses in nature, and how a wide variety of animals interface with these viruses," Babaian said in the news release.
"The hope is we’re not caught off guard if something like SARS-CoV-2—the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19— emerges again … The real goal is these infections are recognized so early that they never become pandemics."
The samples collected worldwide over a 13-year period included dung from several animals, as well as other sources, according to a summary from the school of the research published in the scientific journal Nature this week.
The research team phased the collection as coming from "every continent and ocean, and all kingdoms of life."
With the help of a "ridiculously powerful" supercomputer built by UBC and Amazon Web Services, the team said it found nearly 10 times more RNA viruses than were previously known.
In total, it said, the project found 132,000 RNA viruses. Only 15,000 were known before the Serratus Project.
The team also found nine new species of coronaviruses during study, which took 11 days and cost about $24,000.
As for what was learned, there were some challenges, the team wrote in the paper published in the journal.
"An important limitation for these analyses is that the nucleic acid reads do not prove that viral infection has occurred in the nominal host species. For example, we identified five libraries in which a porcine, avian, or bat coronavirus was found in plant samples," the team said.
The hope is this research, and the database created by the Serratus Project, will help "pave the way to rapidly identify virus spillover into humans," UBC said. The database can also be used to identify viruses impacting livestock, crops and endangered species, according to the school.
An example the 32-year-old gave was of a patient with an unexplained fever. He said that patient's blood could be sequenced, and the virus causing the fever could be compared to the Serratus Project database of existing viruses.
"You can now search through the database in about two minutes, and connect that virus to, say, a camel in sub-Saharan Africa sampled in 2012," Babaian said.
He called the research, which was sketched out on a napkin and started as a "fun" side project, the "most exciting scientific period of my life."
"There are two types of fun. Type 1 is smiling and fun. Type 2 is when you’re miserable while doing it but the memory shines, like rock climbing. In many ways Serratus is Type 2 fun. You just kind of have to believe it’s going to work out."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Quebec judge orders bus driver to stand trial for 2023 daycare crash deaths
A judge has ordered a Quebec man to stand trial on charges of first-degree murder in the deaths of two children killed when a bus rammed into a Montreal-area daycare last year.
Trudeau promises $1B in loans for child-care providers to expand care centres
The federal government is launching a new loan program to help child-care providers in Canada expand their spaces, and will be extending further student loan forgiveness and training options for early childhood educators, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.