This week we dive into genetics and learn about viruses, which are essentially nothing more than minimal genetic material enclosed in protein based shell. Viral genomes have much higher mutation rates than bacterial genomes. Why is this and how does it relate to the likelihood of a virus causing a pandemic vs a bacteria? Find an example of a virus that mutated and what the effect was. This could be either a natural mutation that had a bad effect, or purposeful mutations made by scientists, who create attenuated strains used in vaccines.