Quixplained: With 53 mutations, how Omicron defied the rules of evolution

India has finally acknowledging that the novel coronavirus is in community transmission stage, two years into the pandemic. The INSACOG, in a bulletin dated January 10, stated that Omicron was spreading through community transmission. “Omicron is now in community transmission in India and has become dominant in multiple metros, where new cases have been rising exponentially,” the bulletin said.

But how did Omicron emerge? What makes it different from previous variants of Covid-19? How did it defy the rules of evolution and become a successful channel for the disease? Take a look:

How Omicron mutates How a mutation works Omicron’s spike proteins How the 3 mutation clusters work in Omicron Here are the exceptions

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