How South African scientists discovered Omicron and set off a global chain reaction

Johannesburg, South Africa (CNN)In the early days of November, laboratory technicians at Lancet Laboratories in Pretoria, South Africa, found unusual features in samples they were testing for the coronavirus.

Essentially, a gene was missing in what would be a normal genome profile of the virus. PCR tests weren't detecting one of their expected targets, a signal that something about the virus had changed.

Just a few days later, the same phenomenon was reported at Lancet's Molecular Pathology Department in Johannesburg.

Dr. Allison Glass, a pathologist with Lancet, said the discovery coincided with an increase in positive cases of Covid-19 in parts of South Africa.

CNN.com