Recreating a virus
THE WEEK|March 29, 2020
How a team of researchers in Canada, including Indian-origin Dr Arinjay Banerjee, isolated the virus responsible for Covid-19
SUSAMMA JOY KURIAN
Recreating a virus

Around 10 years ago, some-where on the campus of the Hogwarts-like St Xavier’s College in Mumbai, a graduate student of microbiology and biochemistry, told his friends that he wanted to become that guy who gets called in when there is an outbreak. Those words proved prophetic as Dr Arinjay Banerjee, 29, is today part of a team of researchers in Canada that is trying to find a cure for Covid-19.

Kolkata-born Banerjee, along with Dr Samira Mubareka and Dr Robert Kozak of Sunnybrook Research Institute and the University of Toronto, isolated SARSCoV-2, the virus behind the current pandemic. “Having completed my PhD on bats and MERS coronavirus [at the University of Saskatchewan], I had the necessary expertise to culture this virus,”said Banerjee, a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada-funded postdoctoral research fellow at the McMaster University in Ontario. “Dr Mubareka, who is an infectious diseases physician and researcher, spoke with me and we decided to try and isolate the virus from clinical specimens [from patients]. Dr Kozak [clinical microbiologist] also enabled us as part of the team and eventually confirmed the presence of the virus using his diagnostic tests after we had cultured it. It was a tremendous team effort.”

Denne historien er fra March 29, 2020-utgaven av THE WEEK.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra March 29, 2020-utgaven av THE WEEK.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA THE WEEKSe alt
Trump And The Crisis Of Liberalism
THE WEEK India

Trump And The Crisis Of Liberalism

Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 08, 2024
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
THE WEEK India

What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?

IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.

time-read
5 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Men eye the woman's purse
THE WEEK India

Men eye the woman's purse

A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 08, 2024
When trees hold hands
THE WEEK India

When trees hold hands

A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges

time-read
3 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Ms Gee & Gen Z
THE WEEK India

Ms Gee & Gen Z

The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing

time-read
5 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
THE WEEK India

Vikram Seth-a suitable man

Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Superman bites the dust
THE WEEK India

Superman bites the dust

When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 08, 2024
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
THE WEEK India

OLD MAN AND THE SEA

Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port

time-read
4 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE WEEK India

Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets

THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
THE WEEK India

Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay

AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 08, 2024