Tracing the link between your phone and the next pandemic

When humans cut their way through forests to dig up gold and other minerals that go into phones, computers, and other devices, they run the risk of being a catalyst for a phenomenon called “spillover.” That’s what happens when a virus makes the leap from one species to another. It’s how two-thirds of new infectious diseases, like COVID-19, emerge.

The novel coronavirus that has infected more than 10 million people, killing more than 500,000 worldwide to date, began as an animal virus. The virus got the opportunity to jump from one species to another, and it eventually landed in a human. Researchers first thought that the virus made the leap from animals in a marketplace in Wuhan, China. But there are plenty of other situations humans...

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