Covid origins: Clues point to a ‘modified' close relative
The Times of India Mumbai|June 06, 2021
In the summer of last year, two Pune scientists, Monali Rahalkar and husband Rahul Bahulikar, wrote a paper titled ‘Lethal Pneumonia Cases in Mojiang Miners (2012) and the Mineshaft Could Provide Important Clues to the Origin of SARS-CoV-2’. The research, first reported by TOI on June 16, 2020, theorised a link between Covid-19 and a pneumonia-like illness that claimed the lives of three miners in China’s Yunnan province. Their probe into the deaths and the bat coronavirus RaTG13, discovered in 2013 and currently the closest known relative of SARS-CoV-2, soon became a key part of investigations by DRASTIC, a group of scientists and analysts looking into the origins of Covid-19. The couple’s work gained momentum after a member of this group — known as ‘The Seeker’ — found other vital information that boosted the ‘lab leak theory’. Rahalkar has hypothesised that the miners’ illness was not transmissible at the time because friends, relatives and others near the mine were not sickened. But after their samples reached the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), reports emerged of a fast-moving infection. Excerpts from an interview with Swati Shinde Gole:
Swati Shinde Gole
Covid origins: Clues point to a ‘modified' close relative

What made you so curious about SARS-CoV-2 origins?

Its exact origin is still unknown. It’s said bats are the source of this beta coronavirus, mainly because the next relative, named RaTG13, comes from bat feces. RaTG13 is a virus sequenced from bat fecal swab collected in 2013. Not many details have been given about this interesting relative, though we know that SARS-CoV-2 and RaTG13 share 96.2% genome similarities. SARS-CoV-2 or 2019-nCoV was first described in a Nature paper (Zhou et al 2020), but the authors did not provide details on RaTG13, only mentioning that it came from China’s Yunnan province. The paper’s lead author is Zheng-li Shi, from the WIV. We later found out that RaTG13 was discovered by Zheng-li Shi’s group in 2012-13 during surveillance of an abandoned mineshaft. After going through several online sources, we found the exact location of this mine — TongGuan, Mojiang county, Yunnan.

Why is the Mojiang mineshaft link so special?

Esta historia es de la edición June 06, 2021 de The Times of India Mumbai.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición June 06, 2021 de The Times of India Mumbai.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE THE TIMES OF INDIA MUMBAIVer todo
US soccer scrubs Islamic emblem from Iran flag
The Times of India Mumbai

US soccer scrubs Islamic emblem from Iran flag

The federation said in a statement Sunday that it decided to forego the official flag on social media accounts to show “support for the women in Iran fighting for basic human rights.”

time-read
2 minutos  |
November 28, 2022
Pyar Ke Saat Vachan Dharam Patnii begins on TV tonight
The Times of India Mumbai

Pyar Ke Saat Vachan Dharam Patnii begins on TV tonight

What happens when kismet takes over the lives of two couples belonging to two different sections of society?

time-read
1 min  |
November 28, 2022
Arijit serenades music lovers in Mumbai
The Times of India Mumbai

Arijit serenades music lovers in Mumbai

Arijit Singh casts a spell with his voice

time-read
2 minutos  |
November 28, 2022
ARGENTINA LIVE TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY
The Times of India Mumbai

ARGENTINA LIVE TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY

Messi's Strike Rattles Mexico And Lusail, Brings Team Back From The Brink

time-read
4 minutos  |
November 28, 2022
Costa Rica come alive
The Times of India Mumbai

Costa Rica come alive

Los Ticos Stun Japan With Late Fuller Winner

time-read
1 min  |
November 28, 2022
Morocco's moment under the sun
The Times of India Mumbai

Morocco's moment under the sun

Inspired Atlas Lions Shock Belgium For First WC Win In 24 Years

time-read
3 minutos  |
November 28, 2022
ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, SOAR
The Times of India Mumbai

ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, SOAR

Athletics Icon Usha Set To Become First Woman President Of IOA

time-read
2 minutos  |
November 28, 2022
Industry body calls for slower rate hikes
The Times of India Mumbai

Industry body calls for slower rate hikes

CII Asks RBI To Moderate Pace Of Raising Repo As Global Woes May Impact Growth

time-read
2 minutos  |
November 28, 2022
The Times of India Mumbai

Insurance reforms may see PE funding surge in sector

Irdai Raises Investment Cap, Allows PEs To Be Promoters

time-read
1 min  |
November 28, 2022
Cut ties with child-killing regime, Khamenei's niece tells world, held
The Times of India Mumbai

Cut ties with child-killing regime, Khamenei's niece tells world, held

Iranian authorities have arrested a niece of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after she recorded a video describing the authorities led by her uncle as a “murderous and child-killing regime”.

time-read
1 min  |
November 28, 2022