NOVOSIBIRSK, October 7. /TASS/. The Delta variant of COVID-19, which has become dominant in the world, is likely to remain in the population, having ceased to evolve, since it is increasingly difficult for a more adjusted strain to develop further, leading researcher at the US National Center for Biotechnology Information, member of the US National Academy of Sciences Eugene Koonin said at the OpenBIO-2021 forum on Thursday.

"There is certainly some kind of stability, the Delta variant has been dominating for some time <…>," the expert noted. According to Koonin, the more the virus is adjusted to the current conditions, the more difficult it is for the strain to evolve. This process is complicated by vaccination, which is actively carried out all over the world. In this case, the scientists focus on the coronavirus variant that breaks through the immune defense, they are studying this issue using computer modeling.

The OpenBIO communication platform takes place in the Koltsovo science town near Russia’s Novosibirsk on October 5-8 in a hybrid format. The forum dedicated to virology and biotechnology has been held annually since 2013. The OpenBIO program includes a scientific conference, a business forum, educational platforms for children as well as an exhibition in the field of biotechnology and biopharmaceuticals. TASS is the general information partner of the forum.