Origins and Evolution of SARS-CoV2

The COVID19 pandemic has engulfed our lives for the last year and a half. Given the continued global impact of this pandemic, there is a raging debate on the origins of the coronavirus, SARS-CoV2 that causes COVID19. Bats are natural reservoirs for coronaviruses and there are suggestions of zoonotic spillover of the virus from bats. There is also a discussion about possible genetic modification of the virus. While there is merit in investigating the origins of the virus, now that the virus is here to stay, there is an even more pressing need to know how viruses/SARS evolve and mutate. The latter, which informs us on molecular/genetic evolution, will have key ramifications on our ability to combat the pandemic.

TIFR-ASET and COVID-Gyan jointly present a discussion with expert panelists specialising in virology, infectious disease, evolution, and computational biology to help provide insights on these issues from a scientific perspective. 

In addition to discussing the science behind the origins and evolution of SARS-CoV2, they will also address questions from the audience and throw light on general aspects like: How important are viruses for humans? How do they evolve? If/How do we study infectious diseases and viruses in particular?