Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • NEWS

The biggest mystery: what it will take to trace the coronavirus source

SARS-CoV-2 came from an animal but finding which one will be tricky, as will laying to rest speculation of a lab escape.
  1. David Cyranoski

    1. David Cyranoski reports for Nature from Shanghai, China.

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar

Since the pandemic began, the question of where the coronavirus came from has been one of the biggest puzzles. It almost certainly originated in bats, and a new study out this week — the most comprehensive analysis of coronaviruses in China — adds further weight to that theory.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-01541-z

References

  1. Zhou, P. et al. Nature 579, 270–273 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Guan, Y. et al. Science 302, 276–278 (2003).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Haagmans, B. et al. Lancet Infect. Dis. 14, 140–145 (2014).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Wang, M. et al. Emerg. Infect. Dis. 11, 1860–1865 (2005).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Hu, B. et al. PLoS Pathog. 13, e1006698 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Andersen, K. G., Rambaut, A., Lipkin, W. I., Holmes, E. C. & Garry, R. F. Nature Med. 26, 450–452 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links