7 ms·
The phrase "gain of function" seems to mean the virus differs in some way that makes it more contagious or deadly.
by webdevatlurk 7y ago
The phrase "gain of function" seems to mean the virus differs in some way that makes it more contagious or deadly.
- zaroth 7y agoThank you, that makes a lot more sense than some sort of “gain” (as in, increasing output levels) of “function” (as in, a mathematical calculation where each input has exactly one output). I’m thinking what the heck is a Gainof Function?
- webdevatlurk 7y agoHeh, It makes more sense if you think about it medically. Like, the gain or loss of function in a limb or organ. For a virus I suppose this would be function in reproduction.
- vikramkr 7y agoYeah the function here is not a mathematical function - it just means functionality, like the thing that it can do. Sometimes we biologists can be spectacularly uncreative in naming things :)
- codekilla 7y agoYes, and here is a good overview of it in the context of some contentious research [1]. [1] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0306312716666420 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/030631271666642...
- webdevatlurk 7y agoSeems interesting, but I can't read that without paying, and I probably lack the background necessary for it to be understandable.
- codekilla 7y agoType the DOI into sci-hub.tw
- webdevatlurk 7y agoThanks. Didn't know this existed.
- rolph 7y agoyou can copy it like a link as well and paste it in