British Scientists Plan to Expand Genomic Sequencing from COVID to Flu 

A computer image created by Nexu Science Communication together with Trinity College in Dublin, shows a model structurally representative of a betacoronavirus which is the type of virus linked to COVID-19, shared with Reuters on February 18, 2020. (NEXU Science Communication/via Reuters)
A computer image created by Nexu Science Communication together with Trinity College in Dublin, shows a model structurally representative of a betacoronavirus which is the type of virus linked to COVID-19, shared with Reuters on February 18, 2020. (NEXU Science Communication/via Reuters)
TT
20

British Scientists Plan to Expand Genomic Sequencing from COVID to Flu 

A computer image created by Nexu Science Communication together with Trinity College in Dublin, shows a model structurally representative of a betacoronavirus which is the type of virus linked to COVID-19, shared with Reuters on February 18, 2020. (NEXU Science Communication/via Reuters)
A computer image created by Nexu Science Communication together with Trinity College in Dublin, shows a model structurally representative of a betacoronavirus which is the type of virus linked to COVID-19, shared with Reuters on February 18, 2020. (NEXU Science Communication/via Reuters)

Genomic sequencing allowed the world to track new coronavirus variants throughout the pandemic. Now British researchers plan to use it to better understand a host of other respiratory pathogens, from influenza to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). 

The work is aimed at shedding more light on known threats and, potentially, emerging ones, the team at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, working with the UK Health Security Agency, said. 

The world has never had access to the kind of real-time information for these viruses that scientists obtained on SARS-CoV-2 through sequencing millions of genomes, Ewan Harrison, head of the new Respiratory Virus and Microbiome Initiative, told reporters on Monday. 

That includes granular detail on how they transmit as well as how they evolve in the face of the human immune response. 

"We hope that by expanding our ability to sequence these viruses routinely, we can build upon the work that's going on COVID, and hopefully supercharge research efforts to understand the transmission of these viruses, but also to help develop new treatments and vaccines," Harrison said. 

The aim is to make genomic surveillance of this type the norm, to inform public health responses and act as a blueprint for other countries that want to do the same thing, he said. 

The work will begin later this year by using leftover material from swabs taken for COVID-19 diagnostic purposes, sequencing SARS-CoV-2, influenza, RSV and other common respiratory viruses in a combined process. 

While some of the viruses targeted typically cause mild, cold-like symptoms, others can cause serious illness, particularly in vulnerable populations. 

Cases of COVID-19, flu and RSV have all surged this winter in the northern hemisphere in a so-called "tripledemic" that is putting serious pressure on hospitals in a number of countries. 

The team said that, in future, the initiative could answer questions about outbreaks like this. 

It also aims to sequence everything found in a single nose swab, including the viral, bacterial and fungal species present and how they change during infection. 

The five-year initiative aims to begin work from spring this year and is funded by Wellcome. 



Prague Zoo Joins Effort to Ensure Survival of Rare Insect

An expert keeper displays critically endangered Lord Howe Island stick insects, nicknamed "tree lobster," at the zoo in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
An expert keeper displays critically endangered Lord Howe Island stick insects, nicknamed "tree lobster," at the zoo in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
TT
20

Prague Zoo Joins Effort to Ensure Survival of Rare Insect

An expert keeper displays critically endangered Lord Howe Island stick insects, nicknamed "tree lobster," at the zoo in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
An expert keeper displays critically endangered Lord Howe Island stick insects, nicknamed "tree lobster," at the zoo in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

The Prague Zoo has joined an international effort to ensure the survival of a rare insect that had been considered extinct for more than 80 years.
The zoo is among six institutions around the world that have been able to create living conditions for the largest species of flightless insect, the Lord Howe Island stick insect, which grows up to 15 centimeters (5.9 inches) long. They are on display, a rare chance that only London and San Diego also offer, The Associated Press reported.
The insect, also known as the Lord Howe Island phasmid, is native to a remote archipelago in the Tasman Sea off Australia.
The uninhabited archipelago was discovered in 1778. Rats that arrived with a ship stranded offshore in 1918 appeared to wipe out the insect's population.
Mountain climbers found signs of the insects in the 1960s on a rocky island 23 kilometers (14 miles) offshore from Lord Howe. In 2001, it was confirmed that specimens were surviving there. Two pairs were taken to Australia for breeding, a step considered necessary for the critically endangered species.
“They had to make an enormous effort to survive 100 years on such a tough place as the Balls Pyramid, and now need such sensitive care to live in captivity," Vojtěch Vít, an expert keeper at the Prague Zoo, said Tuesday.
The zoo had to create an air-conditioned building with disinfection equipment for keepers at the entrance to protect the insects that are susceptible to bacterial and virus infections, and get approval from Australian authorities for breeding.
The goal of the breeding program is to return the insect to its natural environment on Lord Howe Island after rats were eradicated there in 2019.