Daily Archives: May 27, 2021

I kind of de-bitched myself, exclaims Chelsea Handler about the process leading to her latest stand-up special, Evolution. For our recent webchat, she continues, I basically went to therapy and tried to take a lot of the bitch out. I found out a lot about myself. A lot of introspection. Deep diving and digging. Watch the exclusive video interview above.

Now streaming on HBO Max, the program marks Handlers first special in more than six years. The comic confesses, I had that experience in therapy and wanted to share it because it was a huge evolution for me. Its a huge growth spurt at 40, which is a little bit of a late bloomer, but thats what a mid-life crisis is all about. My therapist really pushed me to the limit. I did not want to do stand-up again until I had something important to say.

SEEover 150 video interviews with 2021 Emmy contenders

In the special Handler talks about her therapy. The set culminates in the revelation that her anger in life comes from the personal tragedy of her brothers death. She says, My childhood trauma was something that I always laughed off or explained away. I kind of stuffed it away until it became untenable. I had a lot of anger and I did not know why I was angry. Usually anger is hurt. Its hard to be vulnerable. Angers a good cover up for hurt; as well as acting out, deflecting and being funny. That worked for a long time for me and then it didnt.

She reflects, I started to consider the notion of having something traumatic, like your brother dying at nine years old. I started to contemplate if my whole life was a reaction to that. This special was about allowing myself to be vulnerable. Its very hard to be a stand-up and go more than a minute without hearing that laughter and committing to telling a story. The hardest part was accepting the quiet and sitting still with the feeling. I was just trying to be as present as possible to tell a story. It wasnt unveiling; it was allowing myself to be vulnerable in a moment where I learnt that vulnerability is strength. And set that example that theres no shame in trying to change.

PREDICTthe 2021 Emmy nominees through July 13

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Chelsea Handler (Evolution): I did not want to do stand-up again until I had something important to say [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO INTERVIEW] - Gold Derby

The tenth edition of Extra Shot focuses on some of the talking points that emerged from the recent DSP Leaders 5G Evolution Summit.

Three special guests, as well as the TelecomTV duo of Guy Daniels and Ray Le Maistre plus industry expert Chris Lewis, delve further into some of the key topics discussed throughout the Summit, including: The potential business impact of 5G core platform deployments; the role of cloud native in 5G strategies; the role of fixed wireless access (FWA) in the 5G services sector and the relationship between 5G and Wi-Fi; and the role of 5G in the private wireless networks sector, where network operators are hoping to play a key role. And as ever, we asked our special guests about their hot drink preferences and added them to our new-look Containerized Beverage Function (CBF) leader board, which has finally received some CI/CD love

Featuring special guests:

Filmed with TelecomTVs Smart Studio service

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Extra Shot: The Evolution of 5G - TelecomTV

There's a 300-year-old row of townhouses in London where they know all about how "the home" has changed over the years. Today, this building is the Museum of the Home, where they're just getting ready to reopen after a three-year refurbishment and just in time.

Correspondent Mark Phillips asked, "Could there have been a better time for a Museum of the Home to reopen?"

"It's a brilliant time for us to be talking about home," said Sonia Solicari, the museum's director, "because, you know, around the world people have been in lockdown, which means that people have been thinking more intensely about their domestic spaces than ever before."

This is a drawing room from a 1915 suburban family home.

Solicari oversees the exhibits that recreate the spaces we've lived in over time, going back to the 1600s.

And they continue through the technological and social changes that have brought us to today, from the arrival of the knife and fork, to electricity, to television, to the home computer.

Sometimes that journey has been more a circle than a straight line. Back to the future.

Phillips said, "We like to think, you know, that we've invented everything. And now, we think this whole idea of working from home, the home office, is a brand new thing. Is it?"

"No," Solicari replied. "If you look back at the home, certainly in the U.K., in the 1600s in an urban environment, you were very likely to be living above the shop, or conducting business from your hall space."

The home office today, of course, wouldn't be possible without the connectivity that started with the phone. "The telephone obviously started to come into the home from the 1870s," Solicari said.

And if you think our lockdown lifestyle was a new thing, look at what's next to it: a restaurant menu. "When takeaway started to come in in the 1970s, you know, people could call out for their food, something which we absolutely take for granted now," said Solicari.

And that shopping-from-home thing? That's not new, either. Remember the mail-order catalogue? "That started to really blossom in the 19th century," Solicari said. "Huge mail-order market started very much in the States, came over to the U.K. very quickly."

The museum traces how we lived, and how we cleaned, including the "pain and pleasure of housework."

"Well, it's partly about what you use, the machinery and the stuff, but it's also partly about who did it, I suppose, as well?" asked Phillips.

"Yeah, that's one of the stories that we tell," Solicari replied. "Definitely the gender division within housework, that's a debate which is still ongoing."

"Unresolved here!"

The rooms tell our history. The suburban living room:

The bachelor pad:

The loft apartment, part of the trend for converting industrial buildings. "It happened a lot in New York and it happened in London," said Solicari.

Phillips asked, "Does a place like this give you a sense of perspective, a sense of history? It's always changed."

Solicari said, "Yeah, I think it's always changed. There's always been challenges. And the home is evolving, not just through time, but week to week, day to day. I mean how you might think about your home in the morning might be different to how you think about it in the evening. So, 'home' is constantly evolving."

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Story produced by Jane Whitfield. Editor: Mark Ludlow.

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Showcasing the evolution of the home - CBS News

Nashvilles new National Museum of African American Music celebrates the history of gospel, jazz, blues, hip-hop, rap, and more.

James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, looms larger than life in the Rivers of Rhythm Pathways, the central gallery at Nashvilles new National Museum of African American Music (615-301-8724, nmaam.org). His glitzy, perfectly pompadoured image is projected onto a panorama of screens as he belts out his 60s hit Out of Sight and performs his trademark smooth-gliding footwork.

The 1964 footage is one of several highlights of the 56,000-square-foot museum that opened in January in the heart of the tourist district. An orientation film in the Roots Theater chronicles the 400-year evolution of Black music in America and documents how it branched off into dozens of genres that include jazz, blues, hip-hop, rap, and more.

Seven galleries of exhibits shuffle between super-fun and serious. Gospel lovers can don a choir robe and join the Nashville Super Choir in the uplifting gospel classic Oh Happy Day, then see their image projected onto a screen that integrates them into the choir. Think you could be the next big record producer in the music biz? Try mixing your own beats in the One Nation Under a Groove gallery. The Wade in the Water gallery examines African-American religious music, much of it rooted in slavery. The Message gallery, with its graffiti and streetwear fashion, re-creates the South Bronx of the 1970s, the birthplace of hip-hop and rap, when Black kids from the blighted borough used music to rail against social injustices. More than 1,500 artifacts include Louis Armstrongs trumpet and Ella Fitzgeralds Grammy.

NMAAM may be new, but it has an old soul. The music that rose from centuries of African-American struggle, oppression, joy, and triumph is now the soundtrack of the nation. Turn it up.

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The Nashville Museum That Traces The Evolution of Black Music Indianapolis Monthly - Indianapolis Monthly

If you're anything like us, it's fair to assume you spend at least a little bit of your spare time scouring the web for cool cars up for sale. In our perusing today we've come across a 1989 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evolution on Bring a Trailer, a homologation special built to directly compete with the E30 BMW M3 Sport Evolution for touring-car supremacy. In total, only 502 of the 190E Evo were produced, making them an extremely hot commodity. So farwith the auction ending on May 26bidding is still at $31,000.

Powered by a longitudinally mounted Cosworth-built 2.5-liter inline-four, the Evolution sends a respectable 202 horsepower to the rear wheels via a five-speed dogleg manual transmission and limited-slip differential; it also revs to a healthy 7200 rpm. The Evolution also featured a self-leveling suspension with a selector switch that would lower the car for track use. Apart from its race-built engine and trick suspension, the Evolution sported a larger wing, flared fenders, and revised front and rear fascias to add to both its looks and downforce.

In a gorgeous hue of blue-black metallic, the 190E Evolution essentially looks like the Batmobile had a love affair with a DTM touring car, and who wouldn't want that? Even the 16-inch alloy wheels suit the car's looks perfectly. Move inside and appreciate the bolstered black leather seats, tartan cloth inserts on the seats and door panels, and wood surrounding the shifter. Maybe its just us, but looking at this interior makes us wish manufacturers would be a bit more adventurous with interior design these days. With around 43,000 miles on the clock and a slew of parts replaced recently, including an overhaul of the self-leveling suspension, we're sure the current bid of $31,000 won't hold for long.

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Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evolution up for Auction on Bring a Trailer - Car and Driver

Many of todays innovative technologies, such as cloud computing, edge computing, the endpoint and 5G, all change the way we communicate with each other. Following the pandemic and the consequential impact on the UK economy, all organizations will have to rely heavily on the implementation of new technologies including these in order to get back on their feet.

However, adjusting to this new way of working can provide unique challenges. For example, telecommunication companies and operators that adopt 5G technology need to develop entirely new revenue streams as well as lay down new infrastructure, embrace Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), and change their business models.

About the author

John Day is Sales Engineering Leader, UK&I and Nordics at Commvault.

The coronavirus pandemic has created some major setbacks for telecommunications companies as they work to roll out 5G networks. The unprecedented emergency increased demand in connectivity, with some operators and platforms reaching spikes in demand as high as 800%. As a result of this, Vodafone for example has increased network capacity in order to deal with these huge spikes in Internet traffic, which have increased by 50% since lockdowns were put in place. Preparing for these surges moving forward will be key for operators to cope and ensure success.

At the same time, the pandemic is driving demand for 5G as people increasingly rely on the internet speeds available in their homes while working remotely. At the center of a successful 5G business model is data. Without data being easily transferable, protected, and analyzed, organizations across all industries wont be able to unlock the potential behind 5G.

5G is becoming an essential part of an ecosystem that can connect everything and everyone. At the heart of 5G is data and other emerging technologies including augmented intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, and augmented/virtual reality. When used together, these solutions can unlock huge potential for organizations. Yes, ultimately 5G enables faster downloads. But what else can this technology make possible?

It can facilitate new scenarios that are impossible to achieve with legacy technology. It can combine components of hyperscale cloud, rich communications, and low-latency, high-speed connectivity. However, this can create certain challenges for operators.

Currently, the operator landscape is very customer focused and centers around offering desired experiences on mobile devices which have access to data. 5G and the IoT increase the number of endpoints and sensors. Therefore, services must evolve to include more Business to Business (B2B) and Machine to Machine (M2M) models.

5G also provides huge opportunities to unlock new value. Low-latency and edge computing capabilities can deliver new solutions and services. One example is rich connectivity for medical devices. This is enabled via network slicing, which allows spectrum to be allocated specifically to ensure the quality of service of such devices. In addition, infrastructure-as-software capabilities allow for self-optimizing networks, which can dynamically allocate spectrum using AI models.

With ever-present compute from the center to the edge, real-time actionable insights driven by AI and ML, and the intersection of the physical and virtual worlds, 5G is an absolute game changer.

In order to leverage these opportunities, flexible infrastructure is required that not only drives simplicity, scale, and cost efficiency, but also is future-proofed to unlock business opportunities. This is made possible with data. Though the hardware and sensors are important pieces of the puzzle, the AI models are where value and competitive advantage lie. Operators that use data to inform decisions which are made by AI algorithms will be able to unlock the heart of 5G and gain an edge over competitors.

The key foundational layers of the 5G ecosystem are cloud and mobility. However, organizations also need the capability to store, protect, and process data. They then need to deliver this data to mobile devices. AI helps businesses to make these improvements but needs significant bandwidth in order to operate. 5G aids this by both releasing data and providing the bandwidth to support the AI. This offers the potential to augment decision making, both human and machine, by delivering real time information.

The data allows businesses to unlock new applications, in industries including manufacturing, retail, smart cities, energy management, healthcare, transportation, telemedicine and much more. This data must be protected and accessible, as the ability to analyze data, predict trends, and identify the most appropriate data for AI capabilities is crucial.

Effective data management is a vital aspect of every IT system that runs business applications and provides analytical information to help drive operational decision-making and strategic planning. Despite the endless opportunities that business data provides, many organizations take shortcuts when it comes to protecting it.

If a 5G operators data is not both protected and available, it could become a liability. Data that isnt protected or readily available can not only place a user at risk of being hacked, but also can delay or prevent business operations from happening smoothly. When data management is delivered as a service, operators benefit from help and support when it comes to incorporating compliance solutions that include endpoint and 5G data.

Telcos and operators need data protection, recovery, and archiving with enhanced application support. In addition, eDiscovery, governance, and compliance are critical, including laws like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union and local regulations such as the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). On top of this, analytics and content indexing are also important, as are reporting and policy management capabilities.

Data is increasingly seen as a corporate asset that can be used to make more-informed business decisions, improve marketing campaigns, optimize business operations, and reduce costs, all with the goal of increasing revenue and profits. However, a lack of proper data management can result in incompatible data silos, inconsistent data sets and data quality problems that limit their ability to run business intelligence and analytics applications. Therefore, businesses that want to make data-driven decisions which will aid their success must have an effective data management process in place.

As the technology landscape continues to evolve toward integrating with 5G, its vital for technical professionals and industry leaders to understand how to deliver on the 5G vision while meeting consumer demand for higher communication speeds. Businesses that dont adopt this technology risk losing out to competitors, which many cant afford to risk post-pandemic.

For modern telecommunications companies and operators to effectively collaborate and communicate, data management must support mobility while still protecting against ransomware and enabling the storage and movement of data. Therefore, a solution is required that can safeguard data from the edge, to the core.

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The evolution of 5G technology relies on data - TechRadar

Photos Of Stevie Nicks Style Evolution, From 70s Songbird To Music Icon | HuffPost Life

Part of HuffPost Style & Beauty. 2021 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved.

Stevie Nicks style may be just as iconic as her music.

Since she hit the scene in the 1970s, the singer has graced concert stages and red carpets in a variety of ruffles, flowy skirts, embellished tops, shawls and other garments with a fabulously bohemian vibe. Many people have also described her style as witchy, particularly in recent years as shes opted for an almost exclusively black wardrobe for public appearances.

In honor of her birthday, weve rounded up 60 photos that show Nicks style evolution across more than four decades, from 70s songbird to double Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame inductee.

1975

Fin Costello via Getty Images

Nicks poses for a photo on a car in 1975.

1975

Fin Costello via Getty Images

Nicks performs onstage with Fleetwood Mac in 1975.

1975

Fin Costello via Getty Images

Nicks at Yale Coliseum in New Haven, Connecticut, in November 1975.

1975

Michael Ochs Archives via Getty Images

Nicks at an event circa 1975.

1977

Ed Perlstein via Getty Images

Nicks at the Berkeley Community Theater in February 1977.

1977

Larry Hulst via Getty Images

Nicks at the Santa Barbara Bowl on May 8, 1977.

1978

Michael Ochs Archives via Getty Images

Nicks with Fleetwood Mac at the American Music Awards at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on Jan. 16, 1978.

1979

Ron Galella via Getty Images

Nicks and Danny Goldberg at the Easter Seals Telethon on March 25, 1979.

1979

Clayton Call via Getty Images

Nicks at the Cow Palace in San Francisco on Dec. 12, 1979.

1980

Icon and Image via Getty Images

Nicks at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit on May 23, 1980.

1980

Michael Putland via Getty Images

Nicks at Wembley Arena in London in June 1980.

1981

Clayton Call via Getty Images

Nicks at the Oakland Coliseum on her first solo tour on Dec. 3, 1981.

1983

Time Life Pictures via Getty Images

Nicks circa 1983.

1983

Ron Galella via Getty Images

Nicks and Kim Anderson at the American Music Awards on Jan. 17, 1983.

1983

Paul Natkin via Getty Images

Nicks at the Rosemont Horizon in Illinois on July 18, 1983.

Stevie Nicks

Ebet Roberts via Getty Images

Nicks at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Sept. 13, 1983.

1983

NBC via Getty Images

Nicks on Saturday Night Live on Dec. 10, 1983.

1983

Richard E. Aaron via Getty Images

Nicks and Mick Fleetwood at the Rock N Run benefit at UCLA in April 1983.

1984

Ron Galella via Getty Images

Nicks and Anderson at Spago on Jan. 16, 1984.

1987

Ron Galella via Getty Images

Nicks at a birthday party for Liz Taylor on Feb. 28, 1987.

1987

Aaron Rapoport via Getty Images

Nicks and Christine McVie at a portrait session in Los Angeles in 1987.

1987

Barry King via Getty Images

Fleetwood Mac at the MTV Video Music Awards in September 1987.

1988

Pete Still via Getty Images

Nicks at Wembley Arena in London on May 18, 1988.

1988

Paul Bergen via Getty Images

Nicks in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on June 14, 1988.

1988

Ron Galella via Getty Images

Nicks at the Los Angeles premiere of "U2: Rattle and Hum" at Mann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood in November 1988.

1989

Time Life Pictures via Getty Images

Nicks in May 1989.

1989

Tom Wargacki via Getty Images

Nicks at the Mayfair Hotel on July 15, 1989.

1989

Ian Dickson via Getty Images

Nicks at Wembley Arena in London on Nov. 28, 1989.

1990

Jim Steinfeldt via Getty Images

Nicks at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, on June 30, 1990.

1991

Time Life Pictures via Getty Images

Nicks in 1991.

1991

Ron Galella via Getty Images

Nicks at the MTV Video Music Awards at Universal Amphitheater in September 1991.

1994

NBC via Getty Images

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Photos Of Stevie Nicks Style Evolution, From 70s Songbird To Music Icon - HuffPost

Much attention has been focused on the Boards discretionary denial of petitions based on the factors set out in the Fintiv decision.1 The focus is well-deservedsince the Fintiv decision issued last year, over 150 petitions have been denied based, at least in part, on the Fintiv factors. Factors 2 and 4 of the Fintiv decision focus on the proximity of the district courts trial date in relation to the statutory deadline for the PTAB to issue a final written2 decision and overlap of the issues between the district court and PTAB proceeding.3 And there have been some recent developments in relation to these two factors.

First, in relation to Factor 2, the Board has held that even a trial occurring very shortly before the final written decision is due may favor discretionary denial. This can be a particularly challenging issue for petitioners who are defendants in the Western District of Texas, which has a default scheduling order that is fairly abbreviated. In a recent decision denying Petitioners request to rehear the denial of institution, a panel found that even though the district court had not set a firm trial date, an email from the court indicated that the trial date would likely occur on June 7, 2021.4 Further, the deadline for issuing a final written decision could be no earlier than February 2022 and thus trial would still occur many months before any final written decision would issue.5 The trial date for that case was recently postponed to December.6 It is unclear whether the most-recent delay would affect the panels conclusion or more broadly affect the Boards consideration of cases pending in the Western District.

Second, the Board has required less than complete overlap in deciding that Fintiv factor 4 favors denial of institution. For example, in a recent case, the PTAB denied institution of a petition for which only four of twenty challenged claims were at issue in the district court.7 Other factors were found to weigh in favor of discretionary denial, including that the district court trial would occur almost a year before the final written decision would issue and because the court and parties had invested significant time, including discovery, claim construction, pre-trial disclosures, and evidentiary motions.8 However, this decision illustrates that even minimal overlap of the claims at issue may still result in a discretionary denial.

In light of these recent changes, it is important that the parties, and petitioners in particular, monitor not only the schedule in their own district court cases but also other similarly-situated cases in the district. And if it appears that a particular district may be delaying trials, petitioners should seek to put that information before the PTAB as it may be a persuasive factor in a panels determination of whether to institute a PTAB trial.

1 IPR2020-00019, Paper 11 (PTAB Mar. 20, 2020) (precedential).2 Id., at 9.3 Id., at 11.4 Intel Corp. v. VLSI Technology LLC, IPR2020-00582, Paper 26 at 4 (Feb. 11, 2021).5 Id.6 VLSI Technology LLC v. Intel Corp., 6:19-cv-00255 (WDTX).7 KeyMe LLC v. The Hillman Group, Inc., IPR2020-01485, Paper 11 (Mar. 31, 2021).8 Id.

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The Continuing Evolution of the PTABs Fintiv Decision A Brief Update - JD Supra

Early lineages of mammals, like this large Gobiconodon from Mongolia, outcompeted the ancestors of modern mammals in the time of dinosaurs. Credit: Art by Corbin Rainbolt

A new study led by researchers from the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, University of Oxford, and the University of Birmingham for Current Biology has used new methods to analyze the variability of mammal fossils, revealing extraordinary results: it was not dinosaurs, but possibly other mammals, that were the main competitors of modern mammals before and after the mass extinction of dinosaurs.

The study challenges old assumptions about why mammals only seemed to diversify, becoming larger and exploring new diets, locomotion, and ways of life, after the extinction of the non-bird dinosaurs. It points to a more complex story of competition between distinct mammal groups. The new research also highlights the importance of testing old and established ideas about evolution using the latest statistical tools.

There were lots of exciting types of mammals in the time of dinosaurs that included gliding, swimming, and burrowing species, but none of these mammals belonged to modern groups, they all come from earlier branches in the mammal tree, said Dr. Elsa Panciroli, a researcher from the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and a co-author of the study. These other kinds of mammals mostly became extinct at the same time as the non-avian dinosaurs, at which point modern mammals start to become larger, explore new diets and ways of life. From our research it looks like before the extinction it was the earlier radiations of mammals that kept the modern mammals out of these exciting ecological roles by outcompeting them.

Most of the mammal species alive today trace their origins to groups that expanded explosively 66 million years ago, when a mass extinction killed all non-bird dinosaurs. It was traditionally thought that, before the extinction, mammals lived in the shadow of the dinosaurs. They were supposedly prevented from occupying the niches that were already occupied by the giant reptiles, keeping the mammals relatively small and unspecialized in terms of diet and lifestyle. It appeared that they were only able to flourish after the dinosaurs disappearance left these niches vacant.

However, new statistical methods were used to analyze how constrained different groups of mammals were in their evolution before and after the mass extinction. These methods identified the point where evolution stopped producing new traits and started producing features that had already evolved in other lineages. This allowed the researchers to identify the evolutionary limits placed on different groups of mammals, showing where they were being excluded from different niches by competition with other animals. The results suggest that it may not have been the dinosaurs that were placing the biggest constraints on the ancestors of modern mammals, but their closest relatives.

The study looked at the anatomy of all the different kinds of mammals living alongside dinosaurs, including the ancestors of modern groups, also known as therians. By measuring how frequently new features appeared, such as changes in the size and shape of their teeth and bones, and the pattern and timing of their appearance before and after the mass extinction, the researchers determined that the modern mammals were more constrained during the time of the dinosaurs than their close relatives. This meant that while their relatives were exploring larger body sizes, different diets, and novel ways of life such as climbing and gliding, they were excluding modern mammals from these lifestyles, keeping them small and generalist in their habits.

This result makes very little sense if you assume that it was the dinosaurs constraining the therians, said Dr. Neil Brocklehurst of the University of Oxford, who led the research. There is no reason why the dinosaurs would be selectively competing with just these mammals and allowing others to prosper. It instead appears that the therians were being held back by these other groups of mammals.

The researchers suggest the extinction of other mammal groups was more important in paving the way for modern mammal success. As further evidence for this, the researchers looked at body size in different mammal groups. They discovered that both the smallest and largest mammals showed the same release from constraints following the dinosaur extinction, suggesting that size made little difference to their success.

Co-author Dr. Gemma Benevento of the University of Birmingham said, Most of the mammals that lived alongside the dinosaurs were less than 100g in body mass thats smaller than any non-bird dinosaur. Therefore, these smallest mammals would probably not have been directly competing with dinosaurs. Despite this, small mammals show diversity increases after the extinction which are just as profound as those seen in larger mammals.

Dr. Brocklehurst added, Paleontology is undergoing a revolution. We have greatly expanded the toolkit available to analyze large datasets and directly test our ideas about evolution. Most studies of the mammal radiation have focused on how fast they evolved, but analyzing what limits there were on the evolution provides new perspectives. We have had to rethink many of our theories using these state-of-the-art approaches.

Reference: Mammaliaform extinctions as a driver of the morphological radiation of Cenozoic mammals by Neil Brocklehurst, Elsa Panciroli, Gemma Louise Benevento and Roger B.J. Benson, 17 May 2021, Current Biology.DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.04.044

Funding: European Union Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Palaeontological Association Research Grant

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Extraordinary Evolution Research Reveals Mammals in the Time of Dinosaurs Held Each Other Back - SciTechDaily

Coronaviruses infect many animals. Bats are often singled out as culprits in spillover events, but they are not unique. In fact, humans have transmitted Sars-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, to animals like cats, minks, and gorillas.

Viruses dont always respect species boundaries. They recognise receptors to attach to and cells to infect. There are currently around 220 viruses known to infect humans, of which seven are coronaviruses.

Coronaviruses have been responsible for two epidemics and one pandemic in the last two decades. In recent months, scientists have discovered two more novel coronaviruses that infect humans. There are certainly many more. The simple fact is the more we search in the virosphere, the more viruses we will find.

Before Sars, there was limited interested in coronaviruses. A perspective in Science in 2003 called coronavirology one of the backwaters of virology. After Sars, when scientists searched intensively for new coronaviruses, they found two that cause common cold-like infections.

Also Read | A tale of two infections

There are many reasons we will find more viruses.

First, the molecular tools of virology are relatively new, and sampling of animals has traditionally been limited to species and classes of viruses with greatest pandemic potential. Second, some spillover events from animals may be relatively recent. Third, some of viruses may be infecting people but escaping detection because they are not causing disease. Others may cause disease, but may be self-limited to non-specific symptoms of pneumonia or gastrointestinal problems that get better within a few days.

In COVID-19: Separating Fact from Fiction, I mention the various interactions between viruses and humans. There are millions of viruses that dont infect human cells at all. There are a few viruses that infect people in spillover events, but dont spread further. There are others can infect people but do not cause recognisable disease. Yet others that result in disease may not have outward transmission to other people. Viruses that transmit from one person to another might stop spreading if they dont transmit well.

Of course, of greatest concern are viruses like Sars-CoV-2 that transmit well and cause disease. These viruses cause significant disease and death and they threaten to remain in human populations.

A preprint on MedRxiv describes a pig coronavirus found in blood samples of children in Haiti who had acute fever of unknown cause a few years ago. By sampling the genome and comparing with other known viruses, researchers found that these infections were the result of at least two past spillover events. The causative coronavirus belongs to a family that was not thought to typically infect humans. It is currently unknown whether the virus caused the fever in the children or whether it was simply coincidentally present. We also dont know how prevalent this coronavirus is in broader populations.

Another description of a novel coronavirus is in an article in Clinical Infectious Diseases. Eight samples collected from children hospitalised in rural Malaysia with pneumonia many years ago turned up a canine coronavirus. This virus seems to have sequences that are similar to dog coronaviruses but also to coronaviruses found in cats and pigs.

Sars-CoV-2 is also a virus that seem to have different genetic sequences that are similar to coronaviruses from different animals. What the discovery of the hybrid canine coronavirus in Malaysia reinforces is that recombination events, which result in new viruses that are made up of parts of other viruses, are common in nature.

The newly identified virus is the first canine coronavirus found to infect people, a trait that may have taken years of evolution to acquire. Like the other novel coronavirus which spilled over from pigs, it hasnt yet been shown to cause disease; it might even result in dead-end infections.

Both studies underscore a fact. We do not know how many coronaviruses infect humans. Better surveillance for coronaviruses is needed especially when humans and animals are in close proximity and there are outbreaks of pneumonia of unknown causes. The virus identified in Malaysia was found because of a highly sensitive RT-PCR test that checked for many different coronavirus types.

Neither of these two new coronaviruses are capable of causing a pandemic right now. They were found because scientists were looking for them. But there is a need to search for viruses that infect people, because a virus might lurk undetected and be just a few years away from causing the next pandemic.

We can speculate what might happen when viruses remain undetected and cause infections in people. Over years, in the test tube of human cells, they might acquire additional mutations that allow them to become more capable of replicating and transmitting to others. In the process of using up the cells resources, they might cause severe disease. These scenarios are catastrophic for us, but there is nothing nefarious here, only evolution at work.

Anirban Mahapatra, a microbiologist by training, is the author of COVID-19: Separating Fact From Fiction

The views expressed are personal

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Scientifically Speaking | Decoding the evolution of coronaviruses - Hindustan Times