Researchers from Harvard University studied the DNA of COVID-19 viruses taken from more than 8,000 patients in an attempt to find connections between mutations and the most severe illnesses. “We were trying to find positions in the COVID-19 genome that predict the outcome of COVID-19,” said researcher Christoph Lange. “We were very surprised when George found one, in particular, that was very predictive of mortality.””If there was some alteration there then it seemed that people were at very high risk of dying,” said fellow researcher George Hahn. All of the samples with that particular mutation came from South America. This was later identified as the Gamma, or P.1, variant. Those infected with this mutation had a 70% chance of dying from the virus. Researchers concluded that their method was a valuable tool with potential for use against other viruses, including the flu. “We can use exactly the same methodology in the future both for COVID data and possibly also for other data,” said Hahn. “It could be very valuable going into the fall, where we don’t know what is going to happen,” said Lange. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.