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will tease out new angles for diagnostic testing other than detecting the virus - for example, looking at molecular signatures of the host immune response to predict disease severity.


But what stands out to me most is the gap we had in our diagnostics toolkit. We needed simple, accurate, reliable and low-cost tests that could deliver results in minutes. To reap the biggest benefi ts from diagnostics, we need to create tests that are easy to access and deliver more immediate results.


Over the coming years, I think we will see a shift in the diagnostics fi eld - albeit at a less frenetic pace. We will move from centralised testing in hospital laboratories to a new generation of point-of-care diagnostic devices in community settings - such as in GP surgeries or pharmacies.


LifeArc, Edinburgh A catalyst for change


There can be little doubt about the central role of diagnostics in global efforts to control the pandemic - and we should now grab hold of the opportunities that have become available to continue that momentum.


In the UK, the establishment of centralized testing infrastructure has certainly been a monumental achievement. These laboratories now provide exciting new opportunities to roll out other PCR-based diagnostic tests, not just for infectious diseases, but also for non-communicable diseases such as cancer.


We’ve also collected a wealth of clinical data from this pandemic, from which I’ve no doubt we


And it’s not such a huge leap of imagination that the next step will be self-testing diagnostic kits that people can use at home. I imagine there will be a range of consumer devices that become available within the next fi ve years or so, perhaps integrated into the Internet of Things, enabling people greater access to potentially life-changing information about their health on demand.


Picture credit: Alex Orrow


The ability to deliver results to patients faster will be a big step forward, improving accessibility to testing and enabling more timely interventions for a range of different diseases.


While the past year hasn’t been a good one for humanity, we can only hope that we can learn from it to build a better future. The field of diagnostics has been thrust to centre stage, and I am certain that it will continue to play a transformative role in improving our lives beyond the pandemic.


The E484K mutation - a ‘backdoor’ to undoing vaccine efforts Professor Martin Michaelis and Dr Mark Wass


As we are seeing many novel Covid-19 variants around the world, Professor Martin Michaelis and Dr Mark Wass of University of Kent’s School of Biosciences explain why this may be happening and what these new variants may mean:


‘After almost a year, in which SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, has not seemed to change its properties, troubling new variants of the virus seem to have only emerged in the last few weeks.


‘Although viruses like SARS-CoV-2 have high mutation rates, they may not change their features until there is a substantial selection pressure that favours new variants. One such selection pressure is caused by an increasing level of immunity in a population. Hence, it is no surprise that novel variants are found in places with high levels of COVID-19 spread or COVID-19 vaccination programmes, such as the UK, Brazil and South Africa.


‘Many of the new variants have mutations in the Spike (S) protein, the SARS-CoV-2 surface protein that mediates virus entry into host cells. The Spike protein is a main target of our defensive antibodies generated against infection. Current vaccines use different approaches to present the Spike protein to the immune system, so vaccine-mediated immunity is exclusively targeted towards the Spike protein, which is likely why we are now seeing these mutations.


‘Thus, it is probable that the novel variants are due to the selection pressure associated with increased levels of immunity provided by previous COVID-19 infections and vaccines. Many of the new variants harbour E484K mutation in the Spike protein, a mutation that is anticipated to reduce the protection gained from vaccination or previous infections.


‘The South African B.1.135 variant carries the E484K mutation, and the Novavax vaccine was much less effective in South Africa than in the UK. In Manaus in Brazil, there is a new surge in COVID-19 cases, although more than three quarters of the population have already been infected. P.1, a new variant also harbouring E484K, may be partly responsible.


‘P.1 and P.2, another novel Brazilian E484K variant, have both been associated with re-infections of individuals who previously had COVID-19. Most recently, E484K mutations have also been found in Kent and other places in the UK. The emergence of such cases also in the UK raises concerns that the spread of E484K variants may reduce the protection provided by our current vaccine programmes.


‘We can already see that increased immunity from vaccinations and previous infections causes a selection pressure resulting in new SARS-CoV-2 variants that can bypass this pre-existing protection. Our vaccination efforts will be substantially complicated by this.


Professor Martin Michaelis (left) and Dr Mark Wass School of Biosciences (Credit: University of Kent)


‘New variants carrying E484K mutations clearly confirm that vaccination campaigns alone will not solve all our COVID-19 problems and further measures will be required. Only the combination of low COVID-19 numbers and broad vaccination campaigns will enable disease control, as the risk of new variants drops with reduced virus spread and replication.’


Professor Michaelis and Dr Wass run a joint computational/ wet laboratory. Dr Wass is a computational biologist with expertise in structural biology and big data analysis. Professor Michaelis’ research is focused on the identifi cation and investigation of drugs and their mechanisms of action, with a focus on cancer and viruses. With regard to viruses, Professor Michaelis and Dr Wass work on virus- host cell interactions and antiviral drug targets. In the cancer fi eld, they investigate drug resistance in cancer. In collaboration with Professor Jindrich Cinatl (Goethe-University, Frankfurt am Main), they manage and develop the Resistant Cancer Cell Line (RCCL) Collection, a unique collection of 2,000 cancer cell lines with acquired resistance to anti-cancer drugs. They are also interested in meta- research that investigates research practices in the life sciences.


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