SARS Genetic Code Identified
By Laurie Garrett
STAFF WRITER
April 15, 2003
Two laboratories in the United States and Canada have figured out the complete genetic code of the virus suspected of causing the respiratory disorder SARS, a step essential to developing diagnostic tests and treatments.
The findings are remarkable because of their speed - by comparison, it took nearly three years to find the virus that causes AIDS and another two years to determine its full genetic sequence - and their almost letter-for-letter similarity. The CDC's genomic sequence is longer than the Canadians' by only 15 genetic letters, or nucleotides - a mere blip in the virus' total of 29,736 nucleotides. The makeup of a virus is expected to vary slightly by geographic region. But coupled with optimism that the finding can serve as a road map for developing diagnostic tests, drug development and a vaccine is the continuing mystery: The virus is completely different from any kno
life, from my point of view :)