Research: could a coronavirus be developed in a laboratory

Conspiracy theories, claiming that the coronavirus was developed in the laboratory as part of a biological attack on the United States, are gaining popularity online, but a new study of the origin of the virus concluded that the strain that caused the pandemic arose naturally. Writes about this ABC News.

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According to a study first published in scientific journal Nature Medicine, the new coronavirus "is not a laboratory-created or targeted virus."

“There are many speculations and conspiracy theories that have reached a fairly high level,” said Dr. Robert Harry, professor at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Tulan and one of the authors of the study. “It was important to put together a team to study the origin of this new coronavirus.”

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, supported the findings of the study on his blog: “This study leaves little room to refute the natural origin of COVID-19.”

Researchers have concluded that the new coronavirus is not a human creation, since it does not share any “previously used virus base.” This was probably due to the recombination of the virus found in bats and another virus, possibly originating from lizards, also known as scaly anteaters.

Researchers say COVID-19 is 96% identical to the coronavirus found in bats, but with a certain change that may explain why it is so contagious.

On the subject: Scientists explain why men die more often from coronavirus than women

“From the study of other coronaviruses, we know that they can acquire a mutation and can then become more pathogenic,” Harry said. “This is a good explanation of why this virus is so contagious and caused this pandemic.”

According to Harry, a mutation in surface proteins could trigger an outbreak of a pandemic, but it is also possible that a less severe version of the disease has circulated among the population for many years, perhaps even decades, before it escalates to this point.

“We don’t know if these mutations were discovered recently or long ago,” said Harry. “It is impossible to say whether it was really a mutation that caused a pandemic, but in any case it was a natural process.”

And although many believe that the virus originated in the fish market in Wuhan (China), Harry said that this is also a misconception.

“Our and other analyzes point to its earlier origin,” said Harry. “There have definitely been cases of infection in the fish market, but it was not the point of the virus.”

As reported by ForumDaily:

• A new virus was discovered in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019. In 2020, it covered all continents except Antarctica. On March 11, US President Donald Trump imposed a ban on entering the United States from EU countries. The ban came into force on Friday, March 13, and will last at least 30 days. In particular, it will concern people who have visited the Schengen area over the past 14 days.
• March 13 Trump due to coronavirus introduced a nationwide emergency regime in the US.
• On March 11, WHO recognized the situation with the coronavirus pandemic, which covered more than 110 countries. Symptoms of Coronavirus COVID-19 Disease Available here.
• Virologist's tips on how to protect yourself from infection - here to register:.
• Taking advantage of the panic in the society because of the epidemic, fraudsters came up with several schemes to deceive victims of personal data and money. The most common ones can be found here.
• Having succumbed to panic due to a state of emergency, Americans are massively buying toilet paperbut they cannot explain why they need it during the epidemic.
• Trump has signed into law on paid leave due to coronavirus. Who can count on paid leave, read here.
• Read all news about coronavirus in our special project.

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