SEATTLE — Unprecedented data sharing and breakneck genetic sleuthing are charting the new coronavirus’s travels around the globe.
By cataloging tiny genetic tweaks to the virus, called 2019 novel coronavirus or 2019-nCoV, computational biologist Trevor Bedford at Fred Hutch, a cancer research center in Seattle, and his colleagues show the virus is spreading around Wuhan, China, and kicking off much smaller chains of transmission elsewhere.