Telling the story of DNA

COVID-19, genomics & the ordinary language of extraordinary things

Anna Middleton and Julian Borra

Genomics. Sequencing. Tracking. These are the buzzwords within COVID-19 science at the moment — describing how we map the DNA construction of the virus, how it’s mutating and where different strains are appearing.

Scientists from the Wellcome Genome Campus are involved in the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium that tracks the outbreak for the NHS and government. Here ‘genome sequencing’ of the virus will inform management of how it spreads…