Most scientists are using a bat virus discovered in Yunnan province of China several years ago as an ancestral reference to the coronavirus, but the bat virus is not the ancestor of coronavirus, the research paper claims. The research paper also said the area of the first outbreak should have the greatest genetic diversity, specifically mentioning India and Bangladesh. India’s young population, extreme weather and drought created the necessary conditions for the virus to jump to humans, the Chinese researchers allege. The research paper was posted on SSRN.Com, the preprint platform of medical journal The Lancet, on November 17. David Robertson, and expert from Glasgow University, called the research paper by the Chinese team “very flawed” and said “it adds nothing to our understanding of coronavirus,” reports Daily Mail.

Source: Dhaka Tribune November 28, 2020 11:48 UTC