Most scientists today believe the COVID-19 pandemic began at a Chinese wet market, with the coronavirus in question likely originating from a bat. It wouldn’t be surprising, given that many viruses have been linked to bats, including the Ebola, Marburg, Nipah and Hendra viruses, as well as coronaviruses like SARS-1 and MERS. But the bats don’t get sick. In fact, the reason so many bat species are full of all kinds of viruses is because their strong immune systems can keep pathogens at bay.
Yet until recently, scientists didn’t fully understand why bats are so good at harboring pathogens that don’t seem to harm them. A recent study in the journal Nature solves part of that mystery by breaking down exactly how bats can live specifically with coronaviruses and not show symptoms.
