Cats, rabbits and hedgehogs have all been included in a new study aimed at predicting the animals that the next lethal COVID-19 outbreak will occur.
With the help of artificial intelligence, biologists were able to design a predictive model that could predict potential hosts of known virus strains that existed, but have not yet reached humans.
The BBC reports that “we want to know where the next coronavirus could come from,” said Dr. Mar, a virologist at the University of Liverpool.
His findings, published in Nature Communications on Tuesday, describe how artificial intelligence was previously used to predict the novel’s undoubted animal hosts – and potentially fatal – coronavirus strains.
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6 mam out of 411 species could potentially host any one of the mammals – but often finding dozens was the easy part. The trick was analyzing a species that could save two strains at once, creating a breeding ground for powerful mutant viruses.
“One way [viruses are] “It is produced by the recombination between the two existing coronaviruses,” Blagrow said. “So two viruses infect the same cell and they are included in the ‘daughter’ virus which would be a whole new strain.”
Animals such as the civet, the common hedgehog, the European rabbit, the drome mediterranean, some ancient species, and domesticated pigs and cats were named as the main suspects for the reincarnation of the stork-covi 2 – the strain that causes covid-19 – perhaps dozens. With other coronaviruses. These creatures join the list of common suspects, including bats and pangolins.
Previous studies cited in the new report have found re-organization in some of these species. But to identify the sources of the novel for that yet-discovered “daughter” strain, the algorithm is based on an assessment of the biological similarities between known hosts and their respective species, said researcher Dr. Maya Verdeh.
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“We could imagine which species had the chance to be infected with many coronaviruses,” he explained. “Either because they are very closely related [to a species known to carry a coronavirus] Or because they share the same geographical space. “
Scientists hope these findings will help encourage further observation of how and where the human world meets the wild, as researchers say the viral “spill over” from animals to humans is largely the result of reckless human activity.
“There is no reason for these species to be haunted,” said Dr. Verdeh said.
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