By combining genome sequence data with phylogenetics and other clues, two teams looked at the SARS-CoV-2 introductions that sparked outbreaks in North America and Europe.
With genome sequence alignments and phylogenetic analyses focused on non-recombining regions, researchers traced the SARS-CoV-2 lineage in bats back at least 40 years.
By screening swine samples at thousands of European farms, researchers saw reassorted versions of the 2009 H1N1 swine flu virus that may be able to dodge human immunity.
The timing of the divergence of the Measles morbillivirus and Rinderpest morbillivirus lineages traces to about when human populations began to live in cities.
Most of the scroll fragments analyzed originated from sheep, but two pieces came from cow, suggesting they were imported to the area where they were found.
The first reported coronavirus cases in Europe and the US might not be related to the subsequent outbreaks in those areas, according to the New York Times.
