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

  1. infect
  2. vaccine
  3. recognize
  4. quickly
  5. means
  6. specifically
  7. formidable
  8. 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

  1. antiviral
  2. constantly
  3. coronaviruses
  4. destroy
  5. difficult
  6. disarming
  7. drugs
  8. effective
  9. fight
  10. flu
  11. formidable
  12. germs
  13. immune
  14. infect
  15. infection
  16. influenza
  17. longer
  18. means
  19. mutates
  20. mutation
  21. mutations
  22. pop
  23. promising
  24. protect
  25. quickly
  26. rate
  27. recognizable
  28. recognize
  29. sick
  30. sign
  31. slow
  32. slower
  33. sound
  34. specifically
  35. strains
  36. systems
  37. tailored
  38. vaccine
  39. vaccines
  40. virus