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Production of a SARS-CoV-2 Virus-Like-Particle System to Investigate Viral Life Cycles In Vitro
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COVID-19: Rethinking the nature of viruses.

Soraya de Chadarevian1, Roberta Raffaetà2

  • 1Department of History and Institute for Society and Genetics, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA. chadarevian@history.ucla.edu.

History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences
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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

This essay explores the nature of SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2), arguing it blurs lines between natural and human-made. Understanding the virus requires understanding its connection to our social and historical context.

Keywords:
Anthropology of the virusCOVID-19Shared agencyVirus ecology

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Area of Science:

  • Interdisciplinary approach combining biological, historical, philosophical, and anthropological perspectives.

Background:

  • The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by SARS-CoV-2, presents complex challenges to understanding.
  • Traditional distinctions between natural phenomena and human influence are questioned by the virus.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To re-examine the fundamental nature of SARS-CoV-2.
  • To explore the implications of the virus for understanding the human condition.

Main Methods:

  • Integrative analysis of biological, historical, philosophical, and anthropological data.
  • Conceptual framework to bridge the natural/social and biological/human-made divides.

Main Results:

  • SARS-CoV-2 challenges a clear separation between the natural world and human creation.
  • The virus and the pandemic are deeply intertwined with human social and historical circumstances.

Conclusions:

  • A holistic understanding of SARS-CoV-2 necessitates recognizing its embeddedness in human society.
  • The pandemic serves as a lens through which to examine the contemporary human condition, highlighting an 'anthropology of the virus'.