Episode 996
Coronavirus
Fri, 2020-Jan-24 01:22 UTC
Length - 2:58
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Welcome to popular Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of a popular Wikipedia page every day.
With 634,208 views on Thursday, 23 January 2020 our article of the day is Coronavirus.
Coronaviruses cause diseases in mammals and birds that include diarrhea in cows and pigs, and upper respiratory disease in chickens. In humans, the virus causes respiratory infections, often mild, but in rare cases potentially lethal. There are no vaccines or antiviral drugs that are approved for prevention or treatment. Coronaviruses belong to the subfamily Coronavirinae in the family Coronaviridae, in the order Nidovirales. Coronaviruses are enveloped viruses with a positive-sense single-stranded RNA genome and with a nucleocapsid of helical symmetry. The genomic size of coronaviruses ranges from approximately 26 to 32 kilobases, the largest for an RNA virus.
The name "coronavirus" is derived from the Latin corona and the Greek "κορώνη" (korṓnē, "garland, wreath"), meaning crown or halo. This refers to the characteristic appearance of virions (the infective form of the virus) by electron microscopy, which have a fringe of large, bulbous surface projections creating an image reminiscent of a royal crown or of the solar corona. This morphology is created by the viral spike (S) peplomers, which are proteins that populate the surface of the virus and determine host tropism.
Proteins that contribute to the overall structure of all coronaviruses are the spike (S), envelope (E), membrane (M) and nucleocapsid (N). In the specific case of the SARS coronavirus (see below), a defined receptor-binding domain on S mediates the attachment of the virus to its cellular receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Some coronaviruses (specifically the members of Betacoronavirus subgroup A) also have a shorter spike-like protein called hemagglutinin esterase (HE).
This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 01:22 UTC on Friday, 24 January 2020.
For the full current version of the article, see Coronavirus on Wikipedia.
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This has been Joey. Thank you for listening to popular Wiki of the Day.
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