Unusual Features of the SARS-CoV-2 Genome Suggesting Sophisticated Laboratory Modification as a Biological Robot

2022 ◽  
pp. 73-113
Author(s):  
Li-Meng Yan ◽  
Adrian David Cheok

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has led to deaths worldwide and decimation of the global economy. Despite its tremendous impact, the origin of SARS-CoV-2 has remained mysterious and controversial. The natural origin theory, although widely accepted, lacks substantial support. The alternative theory that the virus may have come from a research laboratory is, however, censored on peer-reviewed scientific journals. Nonetheless, SARS-CoV-2 shows biological characteristics that are inconsistent with a naturally occurring, zoonotic virus. In this report, the authors describe the genomic, structural, medical, and literature evidence, which, when considered together, strongly contradicts the natural origin theory. The evidence shows that SARS-CoV2 should be a laboratory product created by using bat coronaviruses ZC45 and/or ZXC21 as a template and/or backbone. Building upon the evidence, the authors further postulate a synthetic route for SARS-CoV-2, demonstrating that the lab-creation of this coronavirus is convenient and can be accomplished in approximately six months.

Author(s):  
Olabode E. Omotoso ◽  
Ayoade D. Babalola ◽  
Amira Matareek

Abstract Background Since outbreak in December 2019, the highly infectious and pathogenic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused over a million deaths globally. With increasing burden, the novel coronavirus has posed a dire threat to public health, social interaction, and global economy. Mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 genome are moderately evolving which might have contributed to its genome variability, transmission, replication efficiency, and virulence in different regions of the world. Results The present study elucidated the mutational landscape in the SARS-CoV-2 genome among the African populace, which may have contributed to the virulence, spread, and pathogenicity observed in the region. A total of 3045 SARS-CoV-2 complete protein sequences with the reference viral sequence (EPI_ISL_402124) were mined and analyzed. SARS-CoV-2 ORF1ab, spike, ORF3, ORF8, and nucleocapsid proteins were observed as mutational hotspots in the African population and may be of keen interest in understanding the viral host relationship, while there is conservation in the ORF6, ORF7a, ORF7b, ORF10, envelope, and membrane proteins. Conclusions The accumulation of moderate mutations (though slowly), in the SARS-CoV-2 genome as seen in this present study, could be a promising strategy to develop antiviral drugs or vaccines. These antiviral interventions should target viral conserved domains and host cellular proteins and/or receptors involved in viral invasion and replication to avoid a new viral wave due to drug resistance and vaccine evasion.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 01-02
Author(s):  
Khadiga Ismail

COVID-19 has high transmissibility and infectivity among human. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) in an effort to slow down the global spread of the virus declared the outbreak, “A global public health emergency of international concern". The skin manifestations of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 were not recognized at the early stages of the pandemic but have received much recent attention in scientific journals. Reported manifestations range from pseudo-chilblains to a morbilliform (measles-like) exanthem, urticaria, vesicular eruptions, a dengue-like petechial rash and ovate scaling macules, and plaques mimicking pityriasis rosea.


Author(s):  
Gurkiran Kaur ◽  
Ankur Mohan ◽  
Mamta Mohan ◽  
Aprajita .

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> Coronavirus is emerging as a major threat to the global economy and psychology. The survey aims to know the concerns and preparedness of healthcare workers in the region of Punjab.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> An online anonymous survey of 22 item questionnaire was conducted over 124 frontline medical professionals in the region. Linear snowball sampling was done.  </p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> The major bulk of the study population were doctors and psychological unpreparedness and fear of increased exposure and contracting infection to the family came out to be the main concerns. While lack of enough skilled staff, essential protective equipment, and adequate support from authorities came out to be major loopholes in management strategies of the novel coronavirus.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> The authorities should provide enough encouragement and assistance mentally as well as in the form of diagnostic, protective, and remedial pieces of equipment. On the other hand, the up-gradation of preparedness plans cannot be ignored either.</p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
H. A. A. El-Saka ◽  
I. Obaya ◽  
H. N. Agiza

AbstractAs is well known the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is a zoonotic virus and our model is concerned with the effect of the zoonotic source of the coronavirus during the outbreak in China. We present a SEIS complex network epidemic model for the novel coronavirus. Our model is presented in fractional form and with varying population. The steady states and the basic reproductive number are calculated. We also present some numerical examples and the sensitivity analysis of the basic reproductive number for the parameters.


Author(s):  
Mirza Zain Baig ◽  
Zaitoon Zafar ◽  
Abeer Aziz ◽  
Umme Hani Abdullah

The first known case of COVID-19 caused by the novel coronavirus now known as SARS-CoV-2 occurred in Wuhan, China in late December 2019. In a matter of a few months, it has spread globally to infect more than 500, 000 people and has caused more than 20,000 deaths. It was officially declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020, by the World Health Organization (WHO). To date, it has strained medical infrastructure, stagnated global economy and given rise to social stigma, fear, and racism. In this article, we provide a comprehensive review of our current knowledge and understanding of this new disease.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zico Meetei Mutum ◽  
Abdullah A Ahmadini ◽  
Ahmed Msmali Hussein ◽  
Yaspal Raghav Singh

The novel coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) has resulted in an ongoing pandemic affecting the health system and devastating impact on global economy. The virus has been found in human feces, in sewage and in wastewater treatment plants. We highlight the transmission behavior, occurrence, and persistence of coronavirus in sewage and wastewater treatment plants. Our approach is to follow in the process of identifying a coronavirus hotspot through existing wastewater plants in major cities of Saudi Arabia. The mathematical distributions including log-normal distribution, Gaussian model and susceptible- exposed-infection-recovered- (SEIR) model are adopted to predict the coronavirus load in wastewater plants. This paper highlights not only the potential virus removal techniques from wastewater treatment plants but also to facilitate tracing of SARS-CoV-2 virus in human through wastewater treatment plants.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. p21
Author(s):  
Hasan El-Mousawi ◽  
Hasan Kanso

The outbreak of a novel type of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the majority of countries around the world has had many negative implications on almost all aspects of life. Currently, about a quarter of the population of Earth is quarantined at their homes, social distancing is effective everywhere, almost all industries have ceased their activities, and various businesses are either closed down or working from home. Procedures taken by governments or local authorities to improve their ability to contain the outbreak have impacted the global economy, which in turn will have many consequences on financial reporting of organizations. This study examines the impact of the novel Coronavirus outbreak on financial reporting of organizations from the viewpoint of Certified Public Accountants in Lebanon. The researchers have used a descriptive-analytical approach and have constructed a well-structured five-point Likert style questionnaire as the study tool. The questionnaire was distributed to a sample chosen from the population of certified public accountants in Lebanon. The random sample consisted of 300 practitioners of the profession, and 221 of them responded; all of which were valid for testing and analysis. The study reached some important findings mainly that the COVID-19 outbreak has had a significant impact on the financial reporting of businesses according to the opinions of Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) in Lebanon, and the researchers had some recommendations as a result.


2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-187
Author(s):  
Sumit Agarwal ◽  
◽  
Yongheng Deng ◽  
Jia He ◽  
◽  
...  

The global economy is in the midst of a recession triggered by the ongoing pandemic of a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The shutdown of the economy and a surge in the unemployment rate also cause stress to the US housing and mortgage system and create significant impacts on the default behaviour of mortgage borrowers. The potential rise in mortgage defaults may renew the long-standing debate over the empirical observation of why some mortgage borrowers do not default as "ruthlessly¨ as the finance theory predicts. In this paper, we propose an alternative theory to explain for the different default behaviours among mortgage borrowers. We hypothesize that the difference among time preferences across mortgage choices is one of the underlying factors that causes the heterogeneity in default patterns. Borrowers can either have a present-biased preference (overvaluing immediate outcomes), or a time-consistent preference (with standard exponential discounting). Borrowers with a present-biased preference are more likely to accept back-loaded mortgages that minimize up-front costs, even though this increases their risk of going ¡§underwater¡¨ and entering default when an adverse shock, such as the one from the ongoing pandemic, occurs.


Author(s):  
Olabode E. Omotoso ◽  
Elizabeth F. Omotoso ◽  
Kehinde O. Paimo ◽  
John O. Teibo ◽  
Abolaji O. Olagunju

Background: The burden of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been on the rise since it was first reported in December 2019. COVID-19 has devastated global economy, public health, social interaction, and has claimed millions of lives globally within a few months. Due to the severe effect of some of the instituted guidelines on citizens and the economy, some of the policies in place to curtail the spread were receded. Hence, the present review aims to assess existing literature on the knowledge and adherence of Africans toward the COVID-19 preventive measures. Methods: Studies focused on Africans’ knowledge and adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures were selected using Google Scholar, Scopus, and PubMed databases. Preprints that have not been peer-reviewed, reviews, and non-COVID-19 studies were excluded. Results: All selected studies showed a satisfactory knowledge of respondents about COVID-19 but poor level of adherence to the preventive measures. Good knowledge and satisfactory level of adherence was common mostly among the clinical health workers, highly educated, and those with higher professional qualification, while poor knowledge and poor practice was observed mostly among rural dwellers, people of poor educational background, and those unable to read and write. Conclusion: This review identified a relatively good knowledge about COVID-19 from all the studies, however, the level of adherence to preventive measures was poor. We recommend that the populace adhere to the laid guidelines to ensure the spread of the virus is curbed while also enhancing the eradication of the pandemic. Keywords: COVID-19, adherence, knowledge, preventive measures, Africa


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel Chigada ◽  
Rujeko Madzinga

Background: The novel Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a deadly contagious disease has left the global village in disarray, driving people and firms, especially healthcare service providers to rely heavily on information communication technologies (ICTs) for administering telemedicine through digital tools. This study contributes to knowledge and information sharing and debates on cybersecurity.Objective: The objective was to analyse the impact of cybercrimes on the global economy at a time when the whole world is focused on fighting and minimising the spread of COVID-19. The study also analysed common cybersecurity threats, attacks and information systems security vulnerabilities during the period of the pandemic.Method: The study adopted a systematic literature review from December 2019 to June 2020. There are global research studies on cybersecurity issues brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, and therefore, literature survey was not limited to any geographic area. A mixed method research was adopted in this study.Results: The study revealed that there is an exponential growth of cyberattacks and threats because the global economy has been paying much attention to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, large corporations, healthcare industry and government agencies have been targets for cyberattacks and threats.Conclusion: It has been demonstrated that cyberattacks and threats during the COVID-19 pandemic are rising exponentially, creating another wave of challenges for the global economy, which is already reeling under the novel coronavirus. Thus, exerting excessive pressure on financial and human resources that have to contend with the novel coronavirus, with the expectation that resources have to be mobilised to deal with cybercrimes. The study recommends that firms and individuals should devise cybersecurity interventions to protect their data and information systems infrastructure.


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