What Makes The Novel Coronavirus So Contagious?

Prion-like features may contribute to the transmissibility of COVID-19

Summary

The novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, is significantly more contagious than the seasonal flu, and a preprint from the Human Microbiology Institute of New York may explain why. In this unpublished study, the authors examined the proteomic structure of the SARS-CoV-2 virus with computer modeling. They discovered that, unlike other closely related coronaviruses, SARS-CoV-2 contains…