---
type: Conversation
title: Private channel session 1048
description: "slack conversation, 18 messages, 2021-03-02."
tags:
  - conversation
  - slack
medium: slack
message_count: 18
started_at: "2021-03-02T16:49:29"
ended_at: "2021-03-02T18:50:38"
duration_seconds: 7269
sources:
  - { id: slack_pm, resource: /sources/slack-pm.md, title: Slack / Private Message Drop, author: "process:senate-hsgac-release" }
generated: { by: randpaul-corpus-pipeline/1.0, at: "2026-08-01T12:42:27Z" }
status: stable
---

A slack conversation of 18 messages spanning 2h 1m.

# Metadata

- **Started:** 2021-03-02T16:49:29
- **Ended:** 2021-03-02T18:50:38
- **Duration:** 2h 1m
- **Participants:** 3
- **Source:** [slack_pm](/sources/slack-pm.md)
- **Pages:** 561-562

# Participants

* [Andrew Rambaut](/people/andrew-rambaut.md)
* [Edward C. Holmes](/people/edward-c-holmes.md)
* [Kristian G. Andersen](/people/kristian-g-andersen.md)
* [Robert F. Garry](/people/robert-f-garry.md)

# Transcript

**[2021-03-02T16:49:29] Edward C. Holmes:** Am I right in thinking that there has been a marked lack of Twitter activity about Nature piece? I wonder if the authors were just embarrassed by it? There were some good replies to your tweet Kristian.

**[2021-03-02T17:06:07] Kristian G. Andersen:** I think it's fair to say the authors are embarrassed - I know I would be. Emma hasn't really been much on Twitter asof late though.

**[2021-03-02T17:26:18] Edward C. Holmes:** What a bloody waste of time.

**[2021-03-02T17:26:49] Kristian G. Andersen:** This :point_down: [shared file(s): Screen Shot 2021-03-02 at 5.26.20 PM.png]

**[2021-03-02T17:27:09] Kristian G. Andersen:** Why in the WORLD they put that in, I don't understand.

**[2021-03-02T17:41:53] Edward C. Holmes:** I know, I know. I told them. It's just nauseating. Putrid. It will do her more harm than good.

**[2021-03-02T17:44:09] Kristian G. Andersen:** Yes, unfortunately - I like her and she's awesome, but there have been several similar instances lately. A lot ofscientists have let SARS-CoV-2 fame go to their head. Too bad, really.We need to get back to the days where Nick was the King of Twitter.

**[2021-03-02T17:55:12] Edward C. Holmes:** I don't know her at all, but clearly the fame has gone to her head. She did nothing to change that text. She's learnt all this from Trevor.

**[2021-03-02T17:57:26] Edward C. Holmes:** Richard Neher should have done some mentoring as well.

**[2021-03-02T17:59:49] Kristian G. Andersen:** Hah - you'd imagine him beating the Trevor out of her and replace it with physics smugness :wink:

**[2021-03-02T18:01:52] Edward C. Holmes:** Oh, don't get me started...

**[2021-03-02T18:04:27] Kristian G. Andersen:** Back to science - we just picked up two _very_ interesting "CA" lineage viruses carrying the d144 deletion and a few other mutations, including N501Y and (more intriguingly) L455F - two out of six of the contact residues hit in a single lineage. L455F is rare - mostly seen in a few genomes from Australia. Eddie, do you have any idea if that mutation was looked into? @Robert Garry your eyes on L455F? Remember, the "CA" lineage has the L452R mutation too, so I wonder if those two together might do something funky. [shared file(s): Screen Shot 2021-03-02 at 6.01.56 PM.png, Protein alignment.geneious]

**[2021-03-02T18:05:32] Kristian G. Andersen:** The screenshot - two bottom sequences = new genomes. Above that, "Type" B.1.429 and above that, Wuhan Hu-1.

**[2021-03-02T18:13:36] Edward C. Holmes:** Can you tell me what the Australian sequences are? I'll look into it. No way that L455F will have been studied here.

**[2021-03-02T18:33:10] Kristian G. Andersen:** I can't... We're unfortunately not allowed to pull GISAID IDs... I can see UK has a few of the double mutants too. https://outbreak.info/situation-reports?pango&muts=S%3AN501Y&muts=S%3AL455F

**[2021-03-02T18:45:14] Edward C. Holmes:** Ok, I'll ask about it.

**[2021-03-02T18:47:58] Robert F. Garry:** I'll look - any change to an aromatic amino acid could potentially set up a stronger binding.

**[2021-03-02T18:50:38] Kristian G. Andersen:** Yeah, interesting model here: http://biosig.unimelb.edu.au/covid3d/mutation/QHD43416/ACE2_BOAT/L455F/A. But I feel that L452R mutation must mess around with this whole interface, so lord knows what L455F does on top. Probably all just random, but pretty interesting to see 2/6 key binding residues hit in a single virus (and acharacteristic deletion - so probably some funky infection).