viral evolution News Research Articles

·July 24, 2020·4 min read

We Are Mutating Coronavirus, but It Is Evolving Back

Study reveals mutations of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, may not be a random process, but instead, humans are mutating it as part of a defense mechanism to degrade the virus. The findings may help in the creation of a vaccine for coronavirus.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·May 30, 2020·4 min read

Evolution of coronavirus outlines path from animals to humans

Study reports SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, was well suited to making the jump from animals to humans by shapeshifting as it gained the ability to infect human cells. The virus's ability to infect humans occurred via exchanging gene fragments from a coronavirus that infected pangolins. The species-to-species transmission was a result of the ability of SARS-CoV-2 to bind to host cells through alterations to its genetic material.