Answer Key
Alien Viruses
The SARS virus might have [originated] in outer space, according to a scientist in Britain. In a letter to The Lancet medical journal, professor Chandra Wickramasinghe of Cardiff University suggests the virus was [introduced] to Earth on a comet or meteorite. [_] comets are known to contain many organic chemicals as well as water. But international scientists are still undecided about research from 1996 purporting to show ancient bacterial forms in a meteorite from Mars. The professor and his team estimate a tonne of bacterial material falls to Earth from space each day. To support his theory, the professor highlights the unique nature and [sudden] appearance of SARS in China. He points to other mysterious modern epidemics like the Plague of Athens and the influenza pandemic of 1917 – 19 as also originating from the skies.
If the claim is true, travel alerts in China and Canada at the height of the SARS epidemic might not [have been]enough to stop the virus spreading. Indeed, the professor warns it could still be circulating in the atmosphere, set to fall anywhere on Earth without warning. However, Professor Wickramasinghe admits there is no hard evidence for his theory, which has been ridiculed by some of his contemporaries.
"I think it is completely nuts," Dr. Anne Bridgen, a molecular virologist at the University of Ulster, told Reuters news agency.
Professor Ian Jones, an expert in virology at the University of Reading in southern England, described the idea as bizarre. And a spokesman for the World Health Organization told CNN though theoretically [possible] , there was no evidence to support such a [claim] .
"I find it hard to [believe] that it came from outer space. We won't be sending a WHO team to investigate."
[Meanwhile] , researchers in Hong Kong say they might have traced the SARS to civet cats, a delicacy eaten by some Chinese.
The claim came after a month-long investigation by Hong Kong and Chinese scientists [tracking] the source of the disease.