[Jolly2 (OP)]

I was pondering if the SARS cov1 of 2002 might never have been fully resolved,  and slowly over the last 18 years spread and mutated somewhere undetected?

[Bored chemist]

Hypothetically, but it's like saying that we aren't actually descended from the same ancestor as chimps, it's just that the random tweaks to the genome got us to the same place.
You wold also have to worry about the "fossil" evidence.

The sensible answer is "no".

[charles1948]

I was pondering if the SARS cov1 of 2002 might never have been fully resolved,  and slowly over the last 18 years spread and mutated somewhere undetected?

That's an interesting idea. Not very helpful though, is it?

[Bored chemist]

That's an interesting idea.

Briefly.
After you think about it, it's clear it's a mistaken idea.

I predict that Jolly will bang on about it for ages.

[evan_au]

Could SARS cov 2 be a mutation of SARS cov1?

SARS Cov 1 has been traced to some very similar viruses living in bats.

SARS Cov 2 is somewhat similar to a bat virus reported in 2015.

SARS Cov 2 is not very similar to SARS Cov 1 - about 80% similarity
- They are both coronaviruses
- They both most likely originated in bats
- As did MERS (another coronavirus disease, affecting camels & humans in the Middle East). But MERS is only 50% similar to SARS Cov 2.

Bats carry lots of viruses, and some of them can affect humans.
- You don't need to assume that SARS Cov 2 is a mutation of SARS Cov 1
- The extent of RNA differences suggests that these mutations would not occur in 18 years

See Figure 1 at:
https://respiratory-research.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12931-020-01479-w

PS: A young child, asked about where COVID-19 came from replied "Someone ate bat soup, and someone ate the toilet paper!".

[Jolly2 (OP)]

Could SARS cov 2 be a mutation of SARS cov1?

SARS Cov 1 has been traced to some very similar viruses living in bats.

SARS Cov 2 is somewhat similar to a bat virus reported in 2015.

SARS Cov 2 is not very similar to SARS Cov 1 - about 80% similarity
- They are both coronaviruses
- They both most likely originated in bats
- As did MERS (another coronavirus disease, affecting camels & humans in the Middle East). But MERS is only 50% similar to SARS Cov 2.

Bats carry lots of viruses, and some of them can affect humans.
- You don't need to assume that SARS Cov 2 is a mutation of SARS Cov 1
- The extent of RNA differences suggests that these mutations would not occur in 18 years

See Figure 1 at:
https://respiratory-research.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12931-020-01479-w

PS: A young child, asked about where COVID-19 came from replied "Someone ate bat soup, and someone ate the toilet paper!".

We know the laboratory in wuhan was studying a Corona virus 96% identical to that of SARS cov2....

Just an idea, the answer is clearly of course

[Bored chemist]

We know the laboratory in wuhan was studying a Corona virus 96% identical to that of SARS cov2

Depending on who you ask, it seems we share about 96% of our DNA with a chimp.
But nobody is suggesting that we evolved from them last year.

Covid's genome is about 30,000 base pairs.
The new variant (as an example of how much it changes in a year) differs by 23 of them- less than 0.1%

https://www.genomicseducation.hee.nhs.uk/blog/genomics-and-the-new-covid-19-variant/

So, what you seem to be saying is that the virus did 40 year's worth of mutating while it was in Wuhan.

Scientists are not saying that.

[Jolly2 (OP)]

We know the laboratory in wuhan was studying a Corona virus 96% identical to that of SARS cov2

Depending on who you ask, it seems we share about 96% of our DNA with a chimp.
But nobody is suggesting that we evolved from them last year.

Covid's genome is about 30,000 base pairs.
The new variant (as an example of how much it changes in a year) differs by 23 of them- less than 0.1%

https://www.genomicseducation.hee.nhs.uk/blog/genomics-and-the-new-covid-19-variant/

So, what you seem to be saying is that the virus did 40 year's worth of mutating while it was in Wuhan.

Scientists are not saying that.

Lab assistance maybe helped.

I ponder what you say to the actual biological weapons countries have made?

[Bored chemist]

I ponder what you say to the actual biological weapons countries have made?

I'd say "What's the point?  They always "backfire".

[Jolly2 (OP)]

I ponder what you say to the actual biological weapons countries have made?

I'd say "What's the point?  They always "backfire".

Hence covid 19

[Kryptid]

maybe

There's the operative word.

[set fair]

I was pondering if the SARS cov1 of 2002 might never have been fully resolved,  and slowly over the last 18 years spread and mutated somewhere undetected?

No, of course not where have you been for the last year?