Morning Jolt: Tracing the Virus’s Origins

On the menu today: One scientific research paper makes the case that SARS-CoV-2 — the type of coronavirus that causes COVID-19 — must have spent time percolating in a pangolin, the anteater-like species that is one of the world's most heavily trafficked animals. But how does that square with other studies suggesting the Huanan Seafood Market wasn't the origin point for the virus, and other scientists contending that a jump straight from bats to humans was more likely?

Does COVID-19 All Trace Back to Pangolins?

Yesterday someone sent me this article in Nature Medicine, arguing that the scenario of an accidental laboratory infection of SARS-CoV-2 — the type of coronavirus that causes COVID-19 — is unlikely, because the virus has certain features that indicate it evolved through a considerable period of natural selection, and those traits are just too similar to coronaviruses from pangolins for the virus to have jumped straight from bats to ...

WITH JIM GERAGHTY April 07 2020 WITH JIM GERAGHTY April 07 2020 Tracing the Virus's Origins On the menu today: One scientific research paper makes the case that SARS-CoV-2 — the type of coronavirus that causes COVID-19 — must have spent time percolating in a pangolin, the anteater-like species that is one of the world's most heavily trafficked animals. But how does that square with other studies suggesting the Huanan Seafood Market wasn't the origin point for the virus, and other scientists contending that a jump straight from bats to humans was more likely? Does COVID-19 All Trace Back to Pangolins? Yesterday someone sent me this article in Nature Medicine, arguing that the scenario of an accidental laboratory infection of SARS-CoV-2 — the type of coronavirus that causes COVID-19 — is unlikely, because the virus has certain features that indicate it evolved through a considerable period of natural selection, and those traits are just too similar to coronaviruses from pangolins for the virus to have jumped straight from bats to ...   READ MORE

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