University of California San Diego Study Finds Pandemic Viruses Emerged Naturally Without Prior Laboratory Adaptation

New evolutionary analysis from UC San Diego shows pandemic viruses like COVID-19 emerged naturally without prior adaptation, offering new outbreak forensic tools.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 9, 2026, 11:58 AM EDT

Source: The information in this article was sourced from University of California - San Diego

Source received: University of California - San Diego - Recent pandemic viruses jumped to humans without prior adaptation, UC San Diego study finds. Ready to edit.

1. HEADLINE

University of California San Diego Study Finds Pandemic Viruses Emerged Naturally Without Prior Laboratory Adaptation

2. SUMMARY

A large-scale evolutionary analysis published in Cell reveals that most zoonotic viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, spill over into humans without needing prior genetic adaptation in animals. Researchers at UC San Diego developed a phylogenetic framework that distinguishes natural viral evolution from laboratory-manipulated signatures, providing new molecular tools for outbreak forensics.

3. CONTENT