Monday, 4 May 2020

WEEK 4 [04.05 - 10.05] COVID -19 origin


I would like to present the article about coronavirus. The topic of coronavirus is essential part of our life in times of pandemic. I found article describing the origin of COVID-19. The presented results show that COVID-19 is not a laboratory construct or a manipulated virus. The article includes the review what can be deducted about coronavirus origin and conduct comparative analyze of genomic data. The possible scenarios of appearing of the SARS-CoV-2 genome were presented. The features of COVIC-19 were presented and basing on these features the authors explain that the genetic data show that coronavirus is not based on any virus backbone used before. Authors give two possible origin of coronavirus: natural selection in an animal host before zoonotic transfer, natural selection in humans following zoonotic transfer and selection during passage. If the researchers understand how an animal virus jumped the species boundary, it allows to prevent the future zoonic events. The genomes described in the articles explain in part the infectiousness and transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 in humans. The authors sum up the article concluding, that it is currently impossible to prove or disprove the other theories of COVID-19 origin.
Here, you can find the link to article https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-0820-9

1. What is your opinion about the origin of coronavirus?

2. During the COVID pandemic did you do anything that you had not had time for before, if so, what was it?

3. What do you miss most of the things, you could do before pandemic of coronavirus and why?

4. What do you think about prohibition  of using cars during Sunday and other holidays? Please explain your point of view. I watched how the quarantine looks like in others countries. People are not allowed to use the cars during Sunday and other holidays for example in Kazakhstan and Beirut.

26 comments:

  1. 1. What is your opinion about the origin of coronavirus?

    I think that is was natural selection in an animal host before zoonotic transfer. This process is rarely (luckilly for us) but possible.

    2. During the COVID pandemic did you do anything that you had not had time for before, if so, what was it?

    Yes! Sleeping! More sleeping :D!
    Before pandemic I sleep 5-6 hours. Now I sleep 8 hours a day and see that this is true optimum for me. My productivity increased!

    3. What do you miss most of the things, you could do before pandemic of coronavirus and why?

    Only one thing: meeting with friends. I have a dog so everyday walk is pure substitute. The rest doesn't change at my life a lot. I was working remote before pandemic.

    4. What do you think about prohibition of using cars during Sunday and other holidays? Please explain your point of view. I watched how the quarantine looks like in others countries. People are not allowed to use the cars during Sunday and other holidays for example in Kazakhstan and Beirut.

    I think that it's good sulution. Without cars people wouldn't travel for long distance. That will result the lower rate of virus spread.

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    1. Thank you for your response! I also agree with you that the coronavirus is a natural selection. I also slept 6 hours and now I sleep 8-9 hours and I like it :D I work as an academic teacher so I have not performed any kind of remote work before a pandemic of coronavirus but now I have online classes with students and it allows me to avoid wasting my time getting to the University. I get up, drink tea and I am ready to teach!

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  2. 1. What is your opinion about the origin of coronavirus?

    I believe that the coronavirus's origin is currently unknown. Some say one another the other. Scientists are racing to try to solve the 21st century. Will they succeed? 100% yes, but when ...

    2. During the COVID pandemic did you do anything that you had not had time for before, if so, what was it?

    Yes, I started and finished renovating the kitchen. It wasn't easy, but it worked out. Now I work normally and it's getting harder with free time. I probably couldn't do it anymore.

    3. What do you miss most of the things, you could do before pandemic of coronavirus and why?

    There is no shortage. They lacked as they would not let fishing. There was so much free time and you couldn't go fishing. Now you can. So there is no shortage.

    4. What do you think about prohibition of using cars during Sunday and other holidays? Please explain your point of view. I watched how the quarantine looks like in others countries. People are not allowed to use the cars during Sunday and other holidays for example in Kazakhstan and Beirut.

    Another stupidity that isn't enough. It's the use of the car by one person that seems safe. After all, if everything is closed, it won't go anywhere. I don't understand this recipe, moreover, I don't understand a few others related to the pandemic ;-)

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    1. Thank you for your answer. I also agree with you that the prohibition of using cars seems to be very strange and stupid. Of course, there are other regulations related to pandemic which are strange as well as you wrote. I think that using car is safer than using public transport. I was several times in OBI and I saw that a lot of people build, renovate their homes so I am happy that you managed with it 😊

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  3. 1. What is your opinion about the origin of coronavirus?

    The problem is complex. The laboratory in Wuhan conducted large-scale research on coronaviruses and other pathogens. Interestingly, the USA, France and Great Britain were very interested in these studies. Countries sponsored these studies - the risk of the studies was transferred to China and the costs were lower. The aim of this research was to test the method of virus penetration into cells, genome sequencing, the possibility of implementing own sequences into the virus RNA. What for? Creating biological weapons is unprofitable nowadays. There's a completely different aspect. Scientists see the potential in viruses to create targeted drugs. Using the protein key of viruses, we can get to different cells, which for some reason require treatment or simply destruction (cancer). And the conclusion is that probably ignoring the BSL-4 laboratory procedures (human factor) led to the release of this pathogen. For me, the key question remains, what idiot came up with the idea of building such a laboratory in the middle of a multi-million city? The Russians were building in Siberia, the Americans were building in the wilderness, and the Chinese were building in an 11-million-strong city against logic.

    2. During the COVID pandemic did you do anything that you had not had time for before, if so, what was it?

    I work a lot remotely. But my girlfriend is a dentist and has painted the whole basement. We also did a lot of cleaning work in the garden.

    3. What do you miss most of the things, you could do before pandemic of coronavirus and why?

    My life is no different. I spend a lot more time with my girlfriend. I'm an introvert who likes to organize his own time. The fact that I don't have to go and teach with a full-time student also fits me very well. I save time and money for gasoline.

    4. What do you think about prohibition of using cars during Sunday and other holidays? Please explain your point of view. I watched how the quarantine looks like in others countries. People are not allowed to use the cars during Sunday and other holidays for example in Kazakhstan and Beirut.

    Stupid idea. At first, they also banned cars in China, and then the authorities discovered that people were then moving on foot and collective communication, which is even worse. People will change to buses, where there will be a crowd. There is an additional problem with how people live outside the city where it is far from the shop.

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    1. Thank you for your opinion. Your answer for the question number one is very interesting. People have more time for others and doing some things together can be very nice. You wrote about gasoline – I have not refueled my car for almost 2 months. I agree with you that using public transport is worse than using a car.

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  4. 1. What is your opinion about the origin of coronavirus?

    In fact, I prefer not to think about it. I don't think we'll ever know 100% sure how it really was. As people we are now able to do practically any genetic modifications, so it is difficult to say which ones have occurred naturally and which were artificially introduced.

    2. During the COVID pandemic did you do anything that you had not had time for before, if so, what was it?

    I tried to work remotely and even though it is completely normal in our industry, I could feel a lack of direct contact with people. I also found more time to read books and catch up with the TV series.

    3. What do you miss most of the things, you could do before pandemic of coronavirus and why?

    I miss regular meetings with family and friends and I'm rather an introvert type. I can't imagine what extroverts have to go through now.

    4. What do you think about prohibition of using cars during Sunday and other holidays? Please explain your point of view. I watched how the quarantine looks like in others countries. People are not allowed to use the cars during Sunday and other holidays for example in Kazakhstan and Beirut.

    I think it's going a little too far. Why can't I go somewhere out of town alone?

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    1. Thank you for your answer. I also have started to watch TV series. I had not have time before a pandemic. I do not like reading books so even pandemic did not convince me that reading books can be interesting ☹ Imagine, how I feel now – I am an extrovert! I miss my friends as well but I hope I will see them soon.

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  5. 1. What is your opinion about the origin of coronavirus?
    That's a very difficult question. Perhaps this is one of the viruses that mutated and was brought by nature, like flu in the 1920s. And maybe it was derived artificially, but it seemed to me before inventing the virus, you need to come up with an antidote first, otherwise there is a chance of a leak.

    2. During the COVID pandemic did you do anything that you had not had time for before, if so, what was it?
    Well, at first I had a good night's sleep, but now I am ready to work a month without days off just to chat live with people. But he also went through many Udemi courses, read books and watched TV shows.

    3. What do you miss most of the things, you could do before pandemic of coronavirus and why?
    Oh, it’s terrible, I’m an extrovert and I used to go to chess, I also played poker every week, I loved to go to karaoke on weekends, but now I just sit at home (

    4. What do you think about prohibition of using cars during Sunday and other holidays? Please explain your point of view. I watched how the quarantine looks like in others countries. People are not allowed to use the cars during Sunday and other holidays for example in Kazakhstan and Beirut.
    I do not think that such countries can be equated. And I don’t think that such bans can help

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    1. Thank you for your response. I agree with you that before inventing the virus, the antidote should be invented firstly. I am an academic teacher and I cannot say that I can work a month without days off because I have to check student programs after each classes and I had 14 classes per week! I am an extrovert too so I can imagine what you feel.

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  6. 1. It seems strange to me that according to many theories the virus came from someone eating a bat, but I do not exclude this option. We know that one can catch Ebola virus by contact with the blood or body fluids of infected monkeys. The most probable theory for me is that the virus somehow got out from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. This is argued that, according to most reports of which I heard, patient zero was found there. Apparently there was a malfunction in the institute and the virus got out during the tests. This theory, of course, is not confirmed and it is excluded by the organic origin of the virus, but I would not be surprised if it was the most likely place of origin of the pandemic.

    2. I need to run remote classes with students through quarantine, which surprisingly takes at least twice as much time as normal, because I can't help students in real time and I have to do a lot of consultation. We even set up a server on Discord as part of student support. I definitely read more books to take a break from sitting at the computer all the time, which makes me very happy, but my motivation for scientific work suffers.

    3. Play with friends in Dungeons and Dragons. We've always met every week for a session to play at home, and because of the quarantine we can't meet anymore. We're trying to play it remotely, but it's not the same. I also miss leaving without a mask for a walk, even if I didn't leave the house often before. Fifteen minutes to work back and forth provided me with minimal movement and fresh air a day, now I go out for a walk maybe once a month. And I miss swimming in the pool, I feel more and more falling back and my back hurts because of lack of movement.

    4. It seems to me a strange idea. Traveling by car is now safer than public transport. It seems to me that the ban on using the car on Sundays and holidays would mean that people would not go to the family or to the woods, which could be a hundred other people. You should limit leaving your home only to important matters, driving a car to the forest on Sunday is not according to some important matter. This allows you to definitely limit the possible spread of the virus between cities.

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    1. Thank you for your answer. You also work at the University so I know and understand what you feel – I have the same. The advantage is that I can sleep more in the morning because I do not have to drive to the work I can get up and switch on computer but I have to waste a lot of time to check students programs. I try to go for a walk 2 or 3 times per week, I live near the forest so I need 5 minut walk and I am in the forest :P I also would like to go swimming.

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  7. 1. What is your opinion about the origin of coronavirus?
    It’s difficult to answer this question. In Internet we can found many theories about this topic. I have heard that bats are reasons for coronavirus. Another day I have read that coronvirus was created by human and escaped form lab. The article included to this topic shows a new point of view about origins of coronavirus. Authors proof that coronavirus wasn’t created in lab. I think we will never in 100% know how coronavirus was born.

    2. During the COVID pandemic did you do anything that you had not had time for before, if so, what was it?
    Yes, I did. I could spending more time on analyzing data from experiment. Before the pandemic I didn't have much time for that. Teaching student’s cost too much time.

    3. What do you miss most of the things, you could do before pandemic of coronavirus and why?
    To be honest I miss visiting hairdresser. I like have short hair and always when I saw that my hair is too long I went to hairdresser. Today I can’t do that and this is sad. I bought a hair clipper and cut my hair myself. The effect is not so good as afer professional cut. I miss also the Sunday's Holy Mass. I always went to church to pray. Today, I watch a transmission of Holy Mass on TV. This is not the same. I miss going to Cinema or theater.

    4. What do you think about prohibition of using cars during Sunday and other holidays? Please explain your point of view. I watched how the quarantine looks like in others countries. People are not allowed to use the cars during Sunday and other holidays for example in Kazakhstan and Beirut.
    I think the governments want stop people from travelling and meeting with each other. They want stop the virus from spreading. Sometimes it is necessary to introduce drastic restrictions for the good of all. I think all methods are good if they work.

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    1. Thank you for your response. I agree with you that we are not able to say in 100% how the coronavirus was born but I hope that it will disappear fast and everything will come back to normal. My husband also misses visiting hairdresser and last weekend I was his” hairdresser”. I was afraid because the hair clipper does not have a “ctrl+Z” option :D.

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  8. 1. What is your opinion about the origin of coronavirus?
    I'm not a virus specialist, but I think that before, during and after the passage from some animal host to humans the virus was gaining important features by selection. It might be hard to pinpoint specific moment. The ancestry tree for lower life forms, looks more like a tangled net with vertical gene transfers.

    2. During the COVID pandemic did you do anything that you had not had time for before, if so, what was it?
    Some quick fixes around the house - it's easier to find a moment to do those things now. And some tidying of stuff around me.

    3. What do you miss most of the things, you could do before pandemic of coronavirus and why?
    I think the only thing would be doing super quick shopping on demand. Overall I do shopping as frequent as usual (that is - not frequent, but lots of stuff) but when I need something quickly - now I substitute, while before I would just buy it. Beside that - I'm all good. I like working from home, I like home schooling, I don't like to travel.

    4. What do you think about prohibition of using cars during Sunday and other holidays? Please explain your point of view. I watched how the quarantine looks like in others countries. People are not allowed to use the cars during Sunday and other holidays for example in Kazakhstan and Beirut.
    I don't quite follow - what would be the purpose? Using cars during Sunday would be more dangerous than during weekdays? Was there such proposition raised by someone, or are we just speculating? The decisions that are made during outbreak show how limited are our decision makers in ability to foresee the consequences of those decisions. Like "2 times number of cash registers" limit - it takes just a moment of thinking to realize it's stupid and counters the intentions. Fortnight quarantine after returning from abroad? I can understand banning long distance flights, that can spread pathogens quickly and far away, but there are places in Poland where it's common to work or do shopping "abroad", that is 10 minutes on bike. No packages delivered (by our dear post) for the quarantined? No comments on this. And it's everything like that. And it was for a long time, the COVID situation is just the magnifying glass.

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    1. Thank you for your answers. I also try to substitute a product if I see that I do not have it on my kitchen. I love travelling and the situation stresses me a lot because I wanted to spend my holidays in South America and now I do not know if I go anywhere at all. You asked in your answer to the question number 4 – no it was not a speculation. This system works in Kazakhstan and Lebanon(Beirut).

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  9. 1. What is your opinion about the origin of coronavirus?
    As far as I am aware, there was some mutation of SARS-CoV-2 that came form animals. My opinion is not important. :)

    2. During the COVID pandemic did you do anything that you had not had time for before, if so, what was it?
    Honestly- no, my and my girlfriend are both working remotely, so there was no particular change for us in the lifestyle. Yes, no restaurants, no meetings, no travels, but in the end it is the same :).

    3. What do you miss most of the things, you could do before pandemic of coronavirus and why?
    Restaurants! I like to enjoy a good meal with beautiful surrounding and hubbub :).

    4. What do you think about prohibition of using cars during Sunday and other holidays? Please explain your point of view. I watched how the quarantine looks like in others countries. People are not allowed to use the cars during Sunday and other holidays for example in Kazakhstan and Beirut.
    For me, it's a complicated matter, because some countries are prepared better for pedestrians and cyclists. And in Poland, cities are made for cars and drivers. I think that you do not have to force people to do (or not) some things. If the infrastructure would be better, people will leave cars on their own will.

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    1. Thank you for your answers. You wrote about restaurants and I became hungry! I like eating and visiting the restaurants which serve the meals from various countries of the world, for example, Indian restaurants. I know that I can buy meals and take away, but it is not the same.

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  10. USA government seems quite positive that the origin of the virus is the Chinese laboratory. Personally I have absolutely 0 qualifications to form a strong opinion. But still, artificial origin of the virus and the theory presented by Trump that the epidemic is the result of a leakage seems plausible.

    I feel like I have even less time than when I had to commute to office every day. So I haven't noticed any benefits with this regards. However, I started playing with 3D modelling recently.

    I don't think I miss anything, but at least shopping was less annoying activity than it is now.

    I'm not sure if I understand the idea behind not using cars on holidays. Is it to stop people from travelling for leisure or visiting relatives? I don't think it's helpful by all means. Actually some outdoor activities in not crowded areas are recommended by experts in medicine.

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    1. Thank you for your answer. I totally agree with you that the outdoor activities are needed for people and they are even recommended by experts in medicine. When I saw the movie how the quarantine looks like in Kazakhstan or Lebanon, people said that they are also dissatisfied and they think that it is a stupid idea.

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  11. 1. What is your opinion about the origin of coronavirus?

    I believe the origin of COVID-19 is urbanization and natural selection. The purpose of a virus is simple, to coexist with its host and to spread and replicate its genes as far and wide as possible. Viruses in the wild are weak. They don’t often possess the ability to infect humans. When wild viruses do transmit to humans, their symptoms are often very mild. With urbanization and agriculture, primitive wild viruses have many chances to evolve. Farm animals catch wild viruses from bird/bat poop, which allows the viruses to interbreed with each other, exchange their genes, go through natural selection, and at some point accidentally make the jump to farm workers, like the milkers who acquired the cow-version of smallpox. Other examples include camel keepers for MERS, pig keepers for Henipavirus.

    2. During the COVID pandemic did you do anything that you had not had time for before, if so, what was it?

    For me the beginning of COVID pandemic coincided in time with my daughter birth, mostly due to her appearance my live change so much that it’s hard to compare times before and after in context of “for which I had not had time for before”😉

    3. What do you miss most of the things, you could do before pandemic of coronavirus and why?

    I really miss meeting with people in person, going for a walk without mask and traveling. I was looking forward this year vacation that we planned to spend in Spain, but due to current situation we had to canceled the whole trip.

    4. What do you think about prohibition of using cars during Sunday and other holidays? Please explain your point of view. I watched how the quarantine looks like in others countries. People are not allowed to use the cars during Sunday and other holidays for example in Kazakhstan and Beirut.

    I don’t think it’s reasonable call, If everything is closed there is no threat that people will go and gather somewhere in public space. At most someone might just be heading to the forest or use car due to some emergency.

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    1. Thank you for you response. It also seems to me that the coronavirus appeared as the result of natural selection. Congratulations! I hope that everything is okay with your daughter and you can spend time with her 😊. Walking in a mask is awful. Personally, I do not claim that a mask can help people to avoid coronavirus. I was looking forward for vacations as well. It could be first vacation that I have to stay home because of coronavirus.

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  12. 1. What is your opinion about the origin of coronavirus?

    As far as I know coronavirus comes from China. I don't know how it moved to people - I don't want to duplicate rumors, guesses or fake news.

    2. During the COVID pandemic did you do anything that you had not had time for before, if so, what was it?

    Thanks to remote work, I have a little more time to create articles and work on my scientific research. I also read more books not related to my field. For example - Love in the Time of Cholera (Spanish: El amor en los tiempos del cólera) written by Gabriel García Márquez. This is an interesting and magical story about love, search, passing, desire, dreams, longings, freedom and happiness.



    3. What do you miss most of the things, you could do before pandemic of coronavirus and why?

    I miss running at the stadium the most. Especially now - when the weather is getting nicer.
    Running with good music is an activity that relaxes me the most and allows me to rest after work. Another thing is training in the gym - because training at home is not the same. And finally, I miss meeting friends and traveling together. Even the short few days - for May holidays.

    4. What do you think about prohibition  of using cars during Sunday and other holidays? Please explain your point of view. I watched how the quarantine looks like in others countries. People are not allowed to use the cars during Sunday and other holidays for example in Kazakhstan and Beirut.

    I can't run because of coronavius, and driving a car is also a form of relaxation for me.
    Also trip with your own car seem to be the safest kind of travel. Especially when exploring the area through the car window.
    The ban on using a car is also illogical to me because I work on weekends and I have to get to work by car.

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    1. Thank you for your replay. I like Spanish language but reading books is not interesting for me. I like listening Spanish songs 😊 I also miss my friends and travelling. I hope that it will be possible to go somewhere in Poland to relax during holidays. I agree with you, that some people work on weekends and it is illogical because they cannot go anywhere. I have a friend in Kazakhstan and he sometimes works on Sunday and he has to go on foot to work because he cannot use his car ☹

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    1. 1. What is your opinion about the origin of coronavirus?

      During the coronavirus pandemic, I read many articles about its origin and myths associated with it. I don't think we really know where the virus came from and how such a great epidemic happened. It is important to find a vaccine against the virus. Although I am worried that something worse may come after coronavirus, because usually when one managed to find a cure for one disease, another took its place.

      2. During the COVID pandemic did you do anything that you had not had time for before, if so, what was it?

      I try to devote more time to my family, because unfortunately work quite often pushes the family into the background, and for me work without a family is simply pointless.

      3. What do you miss most of the things, you could do before pandemic of coronavirus and why?

      Certainly, before the pandemic, I wanted to go somewhere with my family, because we had a few days, unfortunately the situation changed our plans. However, I hope that after completing the coronavirus we will be able to implement our plans.

      4. What do you think about prohibition of using cars during Sunday and other holidays? Please explain your point of view. I watched how the quarantine looks like in others countries. People are not allowed to use the cars during Sunday and other holidays for example in Kazakhstan and Beirut.

      Personally, I think it's an idea that is not completely thought out. After all, many people commute to work in this way (despite, holidays and Sundays). Sometimes I like to go on a family ride around the area. See the beauty of nature and gain new strength for the coming week.

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