The coronavirus could still burst out of control
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It feels a lot longer, but it has only been a year or so since we first mixed horror with grim fascination over the likelihood of a virus having leapt upon us from a bat, and that too, with enough virulence to paralyse human life as we knew it. Scientists who placed SARS-CoV-2, the ‘zoonotic’ bug that is responsible for our misery, under examination are now largely settled on its origin. It hopped across from the winged nocturnal mammal suspected all along. Of special interest, however, is the genetic trajectory of the virus as it evolves within another host species (i.e. us), since this plays a major role in how we humans fare against its spread and the illness it causes. A recent study published in the journal PLOS Biology offers a plausible explanation for why covid has proven so contagious. It also cautions us on the possibility of this coronavirus evolving beyond the scope of current vaccines.