full transcript
From the Ted Talk by Elizabeth Cox: What is a coronavirus?
Unscramble the Blue Letters
While this may sound fmorlbdaie, the slow mutation rate is actually a promising sign when it comes to disarming them. After an infection, our immune systems can recognize germs and destroy them more qilckuy if they ifnect us again so they don’t make us sick. But mutations can make a virus less recognizable to our immune systems— and therefore more difficult to fight off. They can also make antiviral drugs and vaccines less effective, because they’re tailored very spfleiccaliy to a virus. That’s why we need a new flu vcicane every year— the influenza virus mutates so quickly that new saritns pop up constantly. The slower mutation rate of coronaviruses mnaes our immune systems, drugs, and vaccines might be able to roiecngze them for longer after infection, and therefore protect us better.
Open Cloze
While this may sound __________, the slow mutation rate is actually a promising sign when it comes to disarming them. After an infection, our immune systems can recognize germs and destroy them more _______ if they ______ us again so they don’t make us sick. But mutations can make a virus less recognizable to our immune systems— and therefore more difficult to fight off. They can also make antiviral drugs and vaccines less effective, because they’re tailored very ____________ to a virus. That’s why we need a new flu _______ every year— the influenza virus mutates so quickly that new _______ pop up constantly. The slower mutation rate of coronaviruses _____ our immune systems, drugs, and vaccines might be able to _________ them for longer after infection, and therefore protect us better.
Solution
- infect
- vaccine
- recognize
- quickly
- means
- specifically
- formidable
- strains
Original Text
While this may sound formidable, the slow mutation rate is actually a promising sign when it comes to disarming them. After an infection, our immune systems can recognize germs and destroy them more quickly if they infect us again so they don’t make us sick. But mutations can make a virus less recognizable to our immune systems— and therefore more difficult to fight off. They can also make antiviral drugs and vaccines less effective, because they’re tailored very specifically to a virus. That’s why we need a new flu vaccine every year— the influenza virus mutates so quickly that new strains pop up constantly. The slower mutation rate of coronaviruses means our immune systems, drugs, and vaccines might be able to recognize them for longer after infection, and therefore protect us better.
Frequently Occurring Word Combinations
ngrams of length 2
collocation |
frequency |
rna viruses |
6 |
protein spikes |
2 |
dna viruses |
2 |
slower mutation |
2 |
mutation rate |
2 |
Important Words
- antiviral
- constantly
- coronaviruses
- destroy
- difficult
- disarming
- drugs
- effective
- fight
- flu
- formidable
- germs
- immune
- infect
- infection
- influenza
- longer
- means
- mutates
- mutation
- mutations
- pop
- promising
- protect
- quickly
- rate
- recognizable
- recognize
- sick
- sign
- slow
- slower
- sound
- specifically
- strains
- systems
- tailored
- vaccine
- vaccines
- virus