# What is a coronavirus?

- Institution: TED
- Department: TED-Ed
- Speaker: Elizabeth Cox
- Year: 2020
- Level: For everyone
- Language: English
- Subjects: Biology, Medicine and health, Teaching and learning
- Source: [TED](https://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_cox_what_is_a_coronavirus)
- Licence: [CC BY-NC-ND 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) (Non-commercial use only, and no changed versions.)
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (sources give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the source's own words)

For almost a decade, scientists chased the source of a deadly new virus through China's tallest mountains and most isolated caverns. They finally found it in the bats of Shitou Cave. The virus in question was a coronavirus that caused an epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, in 2003. So what exactly is a coronavirus, and how does it spread? Elizabeth Cox explains. \[Directed by Anton Bogaty, narrated by Bethany Cutmore-Scott, music by Jarrett Farkas\].

## Lectures

1. [What is a coronavirus?](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/ted/elizabeth_cox_what_is_a_coronavirus/4a117c59fa88), 5 min (TED's player)