The horror that is the COVID-19 coronavirus is sparking panic around the world as people are struggling to deal with the fallout of it. New research into the virus has revealed that it is going through HIV-like mutation that will likely continue its spread for a while according to the South China Morning Post.
The new coronavirus has an HIV-like mutation that means its ability to bind with human cells could be up to 1,000 times as strong as the Sars virus, according to new research by scientists in China and Europe.
The discovery could help to explain not only how the infection has spread but also where it came from and how best to fight it.
Scientists showed that Sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome) entered the human body by binding with a receptor protein called ACE2 on a cell membrane. And some early studies suggested that the new coronavirus, which shares about 80 per cent of the genetic structure of Sars, might follow a similar path.
But the ACE2 protein does not exist in large quantities in healthy people, and this partly helped to limit the scale of the Sars outbreak of 2002-03, in which infected about 8,000 people around the world.
Other highly contagious viruses, including HIV and Ebola, target an enzyme called furin, which works as a protein activator in the human body. Many proteins are inactive or dormant when they are produced and have to be “cut” at specific points to activate their various functions. (source)
As I have said before (and I will say again), right now the issue is not so much to worry about the virus, but rather to think clearly through the consequences of it and how to respond.
I said it before, and I will say it again because, and while I cannot speak as a “financial adviser” in any capacity, trends currently suggest three major things that will rise due to human needs evaluated against that which the situation speaks about:
Plastics
Biomedical
Precious Metals
The first will be for trade and social functioning, the second will be to stop the virus, the third will be an investment hedge for panic caused by market declines.
Pay attention to these things. I am not saying they *will* rise. I am saying that patterns of history in the light of contemporary news suggest these three fields stand to most benefit in comparison with other fields (for example, with tools).
As the virus mutates, so will the markets.
Be smart, help others, and use the crisis to profit in the morally best way possible so you can help yourself, your family, and your communities in the future.
You can’t stop the virus, but you can make some smart decisions.
Think for yourself, be wise, and keep calm, for it is the best antidote to the panicked running of the masses.