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A coronavirus epidemic 20,000 years ago left its marks in human DNA
New York: Researchers have found evidence that a coronavirus epidemic swept east Asia some 20,000 years ago and was devastating enough to leave an evolutionary imprint on the DNA of people alive today.
The new study suggests that an ancient coronavirus plagued the region for many years, researchers say. The finding could have dire implications for the current COVID-19 pandemic if it is not brought under control soon through vaccination.
“It should make us worry,” said David Enard, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Arizona who led the study, which was published on Thursday in the journal Current Biology. “What is going on right now might be going on for generations and generations.”
Until now, researchers could not look back very far into the history of this family of pathogens. Over the past 20 years, three coronaviruses have adapted to infect humans and cause severe respiratory disease: COVID-19, SARS and MERS. Studies on each of these coronaviruses indicate that they most likely jumped into our species from bats or other mammals.
More: https://www.theage.com.au/world/north-america/a-coronavirus-epidemic-20-000-years-ago-left-its-marks-in-human-dna-20210625-p5847h.html
The new study suggests that an ancient coronavirus plagued the region for many years, researchers say. The finding could have dire implications for the current COVID-19 pandemic if it is not brought under control soon through vaccination.
“It should make us worry,” said David Enard, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Arizona who led the study, which was published on Thursday in the journal Current Biology. “What is going on right now might be going on for generations and generations.”
Until now, researchers could not look back very far into the history of this family of pathogens. Over the past 20 years, three coronaviruses have adapted to infect humans and cause severe respiratory disease: COVID-19, SARS and MERS. Studies on each of these coronaviruses indicate that they most likely jumped into our species from bats or other mammals.
More: https://www.theage.com.au/world/north-america/a-coronavirus-epidemic-20-000-years-ago-left-its-marks-in-human-dna-20210625-p5847h.html
Study in 'Current Biology'
https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0960982221007946
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