Teri, my friend who is an emergency nurse, upon seeing my virus study in social media, writes:
What did you do during the pandemic Monica?
Responding to herself she continues…I sketched it.
Enjoying the first part of Spring Break, I spend a couple of long days outdoors before the rains come. By end of week, I receive word school break is extended another week, to the 20th. News of COVID-19 fill the airwaves.
It rains. It pours. I draw.
Coronavirus: Internal structure. Note Spikes (glycoproteins) and single strand RNA
Fascinated by viruses, I note the coronavirus described as aesthetically pleasing. I agree.
In the studio the latter part of the week, I draw while listening to science podcasts, in general, on the subject of viruses, in particular on COVID-19. I learn about amplifier hosts and reservoir hosts. I learn words like retrovirus and zoonosis.
COVID-19 stands for coronavirus disease 2019. It gets its name from the spikes on its surface which resemble a crown. There are a number of coronaviruses (including MERS and SARS).
I understand now COVID-19 is a concern because it is a single-stranded RNA virus (top image) that mutates quickly and can travel on a sneeze and a cough.
This is why Spring Break extends another week and events are cancelled – it’s logical.
coronavirus – external structure
Days flow…oddly different from morning to evening now. Tara, my neighbor, shows me a photo she takes of the empty fruit section at the grocery store today.
….Mostly Sunny, Partly Cloudy, Mostly Cloudy, Scattered Thunderstorms….
#WhoAmI? #WhatAmI? #WhatIsThisWorld? #WhatIsMyRelationshipToIt
#Art #Science #Curiosity #GottaHaveArt
Here are some educational (and so accessible) sources on viruses in general and some on COVID-19 in particular.
Out of ASU: Zombified Podcast is intelligent and makes learning easy, fun and sometimes…icky (in a good way). This week they cover viruses. The episode was taped before current crisis began, making the ending play like a prediction.
→ Bat shit featuring David Quammen
On COVID-19 in particular → David Quammen, Fresh-Air
Everything virology, with last 7 episodes on COVID-19 → TWiV This Week in Virology
Food for thought (with valuable embedded links) → How to act cooperatively in the face of a pandemic
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Monica Aissa Martinez 