Scientists have released several papers supporting the theory that people contracted the coronavirus fromOther
What can the genetic code of a new type of coronavirus tell?
After the virus was first found, scientists deciphered the genetic code of the coronavirus to understand where it came from.Further decoding showed how the virus changed, but in the very first samples, the researchers were able to trace a pair of mutations that divide into two branches: A and B.To make it clearer, these branches were like generations that came fromScientists decided to figure out whether these ancestors actually had the coronavirus and what role they played in its spread.
It is still not clear how these two lines relate to each other, there is a theory that one of them was the first and gave rise to the second.But there is also a possibility that they appeared independently of thefriend, in parallel at about the same time.
If we consider the latter scenario as likely, then SARS-CoV-2 mutated and began to infect humans: this happened twice at about the same time.That is, the new type of coronavirus may have two progenitors from which the mass infection began.
The coronavirus mutated to infect humans and did so twice. What do scientists think?
An international team of researchers decided to study how likely such a scenario is.Next, they took information about 1,700 hectares.decoded SARS-CoV-2 genomes and found those samples that contained only one of these two root mutations.These variants could be those transitional forms of the branch A to B and vice versa.
They examined the selected "transitional forms" and noticed that the rest of the mutations in the genome could be attributed only to one branch or only to another.This means that the theory does not work, and both of these branches must be independent of each other.Other.
Scientists are confident that transitional and intermediatethere are no links between these two branches and it was stated that these are two independent mutations. Note that the article has not yet been reviewed and published in authoritative publications.
The virus "spreads": what does it mean and how does it happen?
If we explain this using the example of the theory we described above, then the ancestor of SARS-CoV-2 came to the Chinese city of Wuhan along with an unknown animal species or even several species.The virus spread among these species, and during one of the transmissions, it mutated and began to infect humans.This situation could have happened twice in approximately the same territory.
Another argument in favor of this theory: different A and B mutation lines were found in different markets. In both places, animals were sold that can become infected with SARS-CoV-2.
SARS-CoV-2 started infecting people and then there was an outbreak, right?
After the first infection, the virus began to spread, but it was not immediately noticed.Evolutionists from National Taiwan University have found that the ancestor of SARS-CoV-2 began infecting humans six months before the first outbreak in China.
In order to understand this, they studied how quickly mutations accumulated in the genome of those coronavirus samples that were isolated from mink organisms, and calculated the time that should have passed between the emergence of the first strains of SARS-CoV-2 capable of infecting humans and the appearance of the virus in Wuhan.
As a result, they concluded that the virus appeared in China six months before the first massive outbreak.
Coronaviruses mutate very often and can spread to humans.It's true?
Yes, this happens often enough, but we do notwe always notice it. This can be confirmed by a similar case that occurred in 2003, when there was an outbreak of SARS-CoV. The disease caused severe acute respiratory syndrome, but the consequences were not as widespread as they are today.
Where will the new outbreak occur?
To understand this, scientists calculated the number of outbreaks of viruses such as SARS. Several hundred thousand people fall ill each year, but this usually does not lead to mass infection.
To do this, the researchers noted the areas where 23 species of bats live, potentially carrying SARS-type viruses.Further, they superimposed on this data the territories where they livePeople: As a result, it was found that approximately 500 million people are potentially in contactwith bats and each of them can become patient zero.Residents of southern China, Vietnam, Cambodia and the islands of Indonesia are most at risk.
Scientists said that this is where the virus's next transition fromThey offered to start controlling these territories.the next flash, it can be quickly tracked and neutralized.Researchers estimate that there are about 400,000 infections each year that a person canAlso, antibodies to SARS-type viruses were found in people in the Southeast Asian region even before the new coronavirus pandemic.
In this text, we have described several recent works that support the theory that a new type of coronavirus began to infect humans after a random mutation.Scientists have confirmed that this happens quite often, but it is not yet possible to say exactly how SARS-CoV-2 got to us.
Despite this, science has already made serious progress in the study of coronavirus vectors, and has identified halos in the habitat of animals that canThis will improve the global health care system and hopefully preventthe next potentially dangerous outbreak.
Read more:
An airplane with articulated wings and a tail appeared. It can take off without a run
The development of AI has reached a critical point. Scientists are asking to take control of technology
The vampire fish uses an original way to move in water