What is eeek

Japan is presently grappling with a fresh wave of coronavirus infections, a worrying trend ahead of the summer Tokyo Olympics planned for July. On Sunday, new infections were reported in Tokyo, although that is still well below the peak of over 2, in January. A total of new coronavirus disease cases were reported in Osaka prefecture on Sunday, a day after a record were confirmed.

Also Read: Covid Japan to expand emergency measures as needed amid fears of new strains. Although large-scale vaccinations of the general population have not yet begun, health experts are particularly worried about the spread of mutant strains, Reuters reported, adding that hospital officials were not immediately available for comment. Japan's prime minister Yoshihide Suga said on Sunday that he would expand emergency measures as needed to contain the new wave of coronavirus infections, amid fears over the spread of virus mutations.

File photo Photograph: Reuters. Reports say there are more mutations which have yet to be discovered as the virus enters a new, more unpredictable phase. According to UK health experts, cases of coronavirus mutations are taking place at a faster pace even as the country makes rapid strides in vaccination. Reports say there are already eleven cases of the new mutation in the UK in Bristol and Liverpool.

Reports say a large number of cases have also been reported of the UK 'Kent' variant with the EK mutation. Time Traveler for eek The first known use of eek was in See more words from the same year. Statistics for eek Look-up Popularity. Style: MLA. More Definitions for eek. English Language Learners Definition of eek.

Get Word of the Day daily email! Test Your Vocabulary. These names are hard to remember and to pronounce, so in the UK we refer to B. When Matt Hancock announced the appearance of a new variant of concern on 14 December, there was scepticism from many. Under these circumstances, unmemorable names letter point something point something else were an advantage. It seemed improbable, though, that the health secretary was imagining the emergence of a more transmissible variant; he was more likely to be trying to persuade his cabinet colleagues of the need for further restrictions.

A more transmissible virus is a disaster. We knew that in theory in December, and found out for real in January. Measures needed to be put in place immediately to prevent its spread. What happened instead was a modest strengthening of the tier system and a tightening of the holiday relaxation plans.

Uncontrolled spread — as we knew it would — led to an even greater wave of infections, hospitalisations and deaths than last spring. They can, however, efficiently spread it to one another and to potentially more vulnerable adults. The single day of mixing in January will have contributed nothing to their education but will have caused many deaths. Further deaths can be prevented by vaccines. All the vaccines aim to generate immune responses to the viral protein known as Spike, the sugar-coated switchblade that the virus has evolved to force its way into our cells.

We can describe proteins as strings of letters, with each letter representing a different amino acid. Each has different chemical properties, and many of them can be additionally modified for example with sugars.

Spike consists of a string of amino acids folded up into a tightly packed protein. It can adopt a variety of folded shapes to achieve its biological purpose: to insert itself, like a flick knife, into the outer membranes of our cells and pull them apart. Structural biologists at the Francis Crick Institute have catalogued ten different conformations that Spike adopts to achieve this goal — complicated and fascinating stuff.

This gives antibodies plenty of chances, however, to stick to Spike in such a way as to disrupt it: if you wanted to stop someone jabbing you with a flick knife, you could blunt the blade, jam the switch or remove the spring.