(CBS4) - A new COVID-19 variant -- omicron -- has some experts worried it could be more transmissible and more resistant to vaccines than previous variants of the virus. So just how did the virus get ...

The idea of a once-mild virus might mutate into a deadly pathogen is a staple of science fiction, and a common fear since the dawn of the pandemic. Many of the SARS-CoV-2 virus’ relatives, genetically ...

No, viruses do not always weaken with mutations. Sometimes mutations can lead to a strain that's more transmissible or capable of causing more disease. "When a virus enters a human cell they replicate ...

The COVID-19 virus tries to evade any kind of immunity to stay alive, not just immunity that comes from a vaccine, said Ajay Sethi, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In ...

As the U.S. faces down the COVID-19 Delta variant – now fast-becoming the nation's dominant strain – reports of a new Lambda variant that first emerged in Peru in August 2020 are gaining the attention ...

It’s hard to know what omicron means for the future of the pandemic. While some have optimistically suggested this could be the final surge before the U.S. moves into a more hopeful period of ...

There’s been a lot of talk about new variants of the virus emerging, like the potentially more contagious variant spreading in the United Kingdom and recently found in the United States. There’s lots ...

Have you ever wondered why you have to get a flu shot every year, but some vaccines are one-and-done? It all has to do with how and how fast viruses evolve - and that depends on mutation rates.