NewsPronto

 
Men's Weekly

.

USA Conversation

The Conversation USA

The Conversation USA

How the coronavirus escapes an evolutionary trade-off that helps keep other pathogens in check

  • Written by Athena Aktipis, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University
imageAn artistic rendering of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 illness.Getty Images / s-cphoto

Viruses walk a fine line between severity and transmissibility. If they are too virulent, they kill or incapacitate their hosts; this limits their ability to infect new hosts. Conversely, viruses that cause little harm may not be generating...

Read more: How the coronavirus escapes an evolutionary trade-off that helps keep other pathogens in check

More Articles ...

  1. Black religious leaders are up front and central in US protests – as they have been for the last 200 years
  2. What the Supreme Court's decision on LGBT employment discrimination will mean for transgender Americans
  3. US giving reached a near-record $450 billion in 2019 as the role of foundations kept up gradual growth
  4. Supreme Court expands workplace equality to LGBTQ employees, but questions remain
  5. How doctors' fears of getting COVID-19 can mean losing the healing power of touch: One physician's story
  6. Nondiscrimination against LGBT individuals isn't just the law – it helps organizations succeed
  7. Ready to see your doctor but scared to go? Here are some guidelines
  8. People are getting sick from coronavirus spreading through the air – and that's a big challenge for reopening
  9. Why are sitcom dads still so inept?
  10. Herd immunity won’t solve our COVID-19 problem
  11. 'Normal' human body temperature is a range around 98.6 F – a physiologist explains why
  12. Meteorites from Mars contain clues about the red planet's geology
  13. 'Telepresence' can help bring advanced courses to schools that don't offer them
  14. 3 lessons from how schools responded to the 1918 pandemic worth heeding today
  15. COVID-19 will turn the state pension problem into a fiscal crisis
  16. What Buddhism and science can teach each other – and us – about the universe
  17. A pragmatist philosopher's view of the US response to the coronavirus pandemic
  18. Uruguay quietly beats coronavirus, distinguishing itself from its South American neighbors – yet again
  19. Are we all OCD now, with obsessive hand-washing and technology addiction?
  20. India's goddesses of contagion provide protection in the pandemic – just don't make them angry
  21. Coronavirus shows how ageism is harmful to health of older adults
  22. No justice, no peace: Why Catholic priests are kneeling with George Floyd protesters
  23. Being convicted of a crime has thousands of consequences besides incarceration – and some last a lifetime
  24. Why hairdressers, gyms and the Trump campaign are asking people to sign COVID-19 waivers
  25. What the archaeological record reveals about epidemics throughout history – and the human response to them
  26. Was the coronavirus outbreak an intelligence failure?
  27. What is a derecho? An atmospheric scientist explains these rare but dangerous storm systems
  28. Police unions are one of the biggest obstacles to transforming policing
  29. Video: How simple math can help predict the melting of sea ice
  30. Why stocks are soaring even as coronavirus cases surge, at least 20 million remain unemployed and the US sinks into recession
  31. Churchgoers aren't able to lift every voice and sing during the pandemic – here's why that matters
  32. A short history of black women and police violence
  33. Am I immune to COVID-19 if I have antibodies?
  34. High-tech surveillance amplifies police bias and overreach
  35. Students demand removal of 'mild racist' from Georgia landscape
  36. China's efforts to win hearts and minds with aid and investment may make all the difference if there's a cold war with the US
  37. How DC Mayor Bowser used graffiti to protect public space
  38. More people eat frog legs than you think – and humans are harvesting frogs at unsustainable rates
  39. What colleges and universities can do to improve police-community relations
  40. Could China's strategic pork reserve be a model for the US?
  41. How 'Karen' went from a popular baby name to a stand-in for white entitlement
  42. Why soldiers might disobey the president's orders to occupy US cities
  43. Who killed Sweden's prime minister? 1986 assassination of Olof Palme is finally solved – maybe
  44. During Floyd protests, media industry reckons with long history of collaboration with law enforcement
  45. Neighborhood-based friendships making a comeback for kids in the age of coronavirus
  46. Is it safe to stay in a hotel, cabin or rental home yet?
  47. Adding women to corporate boards improves decisions about medical product safety
  48. Going online due to COVID-19 this fall could hurt colleges' future
  49. Globalization really started 1,000 years ago
  50. Globalization really started 1,000 years ago