Research Article | | Peer-Reviewed

An Adaptive Representational Explanation of COVID-19’s Evolution

Received: 1 November 2023    Accepted: 23 November 2023    Published: 5 December 2023
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

The outbreak of the SARSCoV-2 (COVID-19) virus in 2019 heralded the beginning of a global epidemic. In the past three years, the virus has mutated significantly at least five times, each time creating new variants that pose unprecedented challenges to human survival and adaptation. Through long-term replication and bidirectional selection founded on the environment, the evolution of the virus strains from Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta to Omicron and a series of variants, reflecting their increasing ability of adaption to the environment. Its biological adaptation instinct enables its mutated strains to continuously evade the protection of vaccines in the process of evolution, and the toxicity is gradually weakened, so that the virus can adapt to the physical environment of the host (human or animal) to the greatest extent, and can coexist for a long time. Using adaptive characterization as the explanation method, it is shown that virus is an adaptive agent and its variation is the result of adaptive process. As a basic explanatory framework, adaptive representation reflects the essential operating mechanism of various functional systems.This method can well explain the changes in human immunity and the changes in understanding of the novel coronavirus, and also reflects the interpretation role of adaptive representation in biological variation, conceptual change and theoretical replacement, which can use adaptive representation to better understand the changes in the material structure of the virus and the evolutionary means based on environmental adaptability.

Published in Social Sciences (Volume 12, Issue 6)
DOI 10.11648/j.ss.20231206.15
Page(s) 294-302
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

COVID-19, Viral Mutation, Environment, Host, Adaptive Representation

References
[1] 魏屹东. (2020). 溯因推理与科学认知的适应性表征. 南京社会科学, (7): 34-43+67. [Wei Yidong. (2020). Abductive Reasoning and Adaptive Representation of Scientific Cognition. Nanjing Journal of Social Sciences, (7): 34-43+67.]
[2] Dai Hui, Zhao Bin. (2023). Association between the infection probability of COVID-19 and ventilation rates: An update for SARS-CoV-2 variants. Building simulation, 16(1): 3-12.
[3] 魏屹东. (2022). 认知的适应性表征: 机制、特征与功能. 南京社会科学, (05): 17-25. [Wei Yidong. (2022). Adaptive Representations of Cognition: Mechanisms, Features and Functions. Nanjing Journal of Social Sciences, (05): 17-25.]
[4] Chen Yu, Liu Qianyun, Guo Deyin. (2020). Emerging coronaviruses: genome structure, replication, and pathogenesis. Journal of medical virology, 92(4): 418-423.
[5] Cao Yunlong, Wang Jing, Jia Fanchong, et al. (2022). Omicron escapes the majority of existing SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies. Nature, 602(7898): 657-663.
[6] Callaway Ewen. (2021). Beyond Omicron: what’s next for COVID’s viral evolution.Nature, 600(7888): 204-207.
[7] Gao Bo, He Liheng., Bao Yujie, et al. (2023). Repeated vaccination of inactivated SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine dampens neutralizing antibodies against Omicron variants in breakthrough infection. Cell Research, 33(Jan.): 258-261.
[8] Bina Choi, Manish C. Choudhary, James Regan, et al. (2020). Persistence and evolution of SARS-CoV-2 in an immunocompromised host. New England Journal of Medicine, 383(23): 2291-2293.
[9] 樊巍. (2023). 新型冠状病毒变异株会如何进化. 环球时报, 2023-01-07(004).[Fan Wei. (2023). How Does the COVID-19 Variant Evolve. Global Times, 2023-01-07(004).]
[10] Erez Zohar, Steinberger-Levy Ida, Shamir Maya, et al. (2017). Communication between viruses guides lysis-lysogeny decisions. Nature, 541(7638): 488-493.
[11] 魏屹东. (2022). 论适应性表征及其方法论意义. 山西大学学报 (哲学社会科学版), 45(01): 21-31. [Wei Yidong. (2022). On Adaptive Representation and Its Methodological Significance. Journal of Shanxi University (Philosophy and Social Sciences), 45(01): 21-31.]
[12] Wu Licheng, Estrada Oscar, Zaborina Olga, et al. (2005). Recognition of host immune activation by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Science, 309(5735): 774-777.
[13] Zhao Yongliang, Ni Wenjia, Liang Simeng, et al. (2023). Vaccination with Span, an antigen guided by SARS-CoV-2 S protein evolution, protects against challenge with viral variants in mice. Science Translational Medicine, 15(677): eabo3332.
[14] Shang Jia, Wan Yushun, Luo Chuming, et al. (2020). Cell entry mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(21): 11727-11734.
[15] Gorbalenys A. E., Baker S. C., Baric R.S, et al. (2020). The species Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus: classifying 2019-nCoV and naming it SARS-CoV-2. Nature microbiology, 5(4): 536-544.
[16] World Health Organization. (‎2020)‎. Novel Coronavirus (‎2019-nCoV)‎: situation report, 22. World Health Organization. https://iris.who.int/handle/10665/330991. [Accessed 6 May 2023].
[17] National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China. (2023).关于新型冠状病毒肺炎更名为新型冠状病毒感染的公告 公告2022年第7号.中国医药, (01), 5. [National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China. (2023). Notice on renaming coronavirus disease 2019 to novel coronavirus infection Notice No. 7, 2022. China Medicine, (01), 5.]
[18] 魏屹东. (2019). 适应性表征: 架构自然认知与人工认知的统一范畴. 哲学研究, (09): 114-124. [Wei Yidong. (2019). Adaptive Representation: A Unified Category of Natural Cognition and Artificial Cognition. Philosophical Research, (09): 114-124.]
[19] 韩辉, 伍波, 张瑾等. (2023). 2023年1月全球传染病疫情概要. 疾病监测, 38(02): 132-134. [Han Hui, Wu Bo, Zhang Jin, et al. (2023). Summary of global surveillance data of infectious diseases in January 2023. Disease Surveillance, 38(02): 132-134. ]
[20] 鞠斌, 周兵, 张政. (2022). 抗新型冠状病毒中和抗体研究现状及展望. 中国科学基金, 36(04): 624-629. [Ju Bin, Zhou Bing, Zhang Zheng. (2022). Current Status and Prospect of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Neutralizing Antibodies. Bulletin of National Natural Science Foundation of China, 36(04): 624-629.]
[21] Reisinger Joseph, Miikkulainen Risto. (2007). Acquiring evolvability through adaptive representations. Proceedings of the 9th annual conference on Genetic and evolutionary computation.pp. : 1045-1052.
[22] Zheng Jia, Guo Ning, Wagner Andreas. (2020). Selection enhances protein evolvability by increasing mutational robustness and foldability.Science, 370(6521): 59-62.
[23] Mayr Ernst. (1963). Animal species and evolution. Harvard University Press.
[24] 魏屹东. (2024). 认知系统: 结构、功能与特征. 系统科学学报, (04), 40-48. [Wei Yidong. (2024).Cognitive Systems: Structure, Function and Features. Chinese Journal of Systems Science, (04), 40-48.]
[25] 魏屹东. (2023). 适应性表征:意识生成的内在机制和解释框架. 科学•经济•社会, (05), 32-49. [Wei Yidong. (2023). Adaptive Representation: An Intrinsic Mechanism and Explanatory Framework for Emergence of Consciousness. Science Economy Society, (05), 32-49.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Li, R., Wei, Y. (2023). An Adaptive Representational Explanation of COVID-19’s Evolution. Social Sciences, 12(6), 294-302. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20231206.15

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Li, R.; Wei, Y. An Adaptive Representational Explanation of COVID-19’s Evolution. Soc. Sci. 2023, 12(6), 294-302. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20231206.15

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Li R, Wei Y. An Adaptive Representational Explanation of COVID-19’s Evolution. Soc Sci. 2023;12(6):294-302. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20231206.15

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.ss.20231206.15,
      author = {Ruizhi Li and Yidong Wei},
      title = {An Adaptive Representational Explanation of COVID-19’s Evolution},
      journal = {Social Sciences},
      volume = {12},
      number = {6},
      pages = {294-302},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ss.20231206.15},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20231206.15},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ss.20231206.15},
      abstract = {The outbreak of the SARSCoV-2 (COVID-19) virus in 2019 heralded the beginning of a global epidemic. In the past three years, the virus has mutated significantly at least five times, each time creating new variants that pose unprecedented challenges to human survival and adaptation. Through long-term replication and bidirectional selection founded on the environment, the evolution of the virus strains from Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta to Omicron and a series of variants, reflecting their increasing ability of adaption to the environment. Its biological adaptation instinct enables its mutated strains to continuously evade the protection of vaccines in the process of evolution, and the toxicity is gradually weakened, so that the virus can adapt to the physical environment of the host (human or animal) to the greatest extent, and can coexist for a long time. Using adaptive characterization as the explanation method, it is shown that virus is an adaptive agent and its variation is the result of adaptive process. As a basic explanatory framework, adaptive representation reflects the essential operating mechanism of various functional systems.This method can well explain the changes in human immunity and the changes in understanding of the novel coronavirus, and also reflects the interpretation role of adaptive representation in biological variation, conceptual change and theoretical replacement, which can use adaptive representation to better understand the changes in the material structure of the virus and the evolutionary means based on environmental adaptability.
    },
     year = {2023}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - An Adaptive Representational Explanation of COVID-19’s Evolution
    AU  - Ruizhi Li
    AU  - Yidong Wei
    Y1  - 2023/12/05
    PY  - 2023
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20231206.15
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ss.20231206.15
    T2  - Social Sciences
    JF  - Social Sciences
    JO  - Social Sciences
    SP  - 294
    EP  - 302
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2326-988X
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20231206.15
    AB  - The outbreak of the SARSCoV-2 (COVID-19) virus in 2019 heralded the beginning of a global epidemic. In the past three years, the virus has mutated significantly at least five times, each time creating new variants that pose unprecedented challenges to human survival and adaptation. Through long-term replication and bidirectional selection founded on the environment, the evolution of the virus strains from Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta to Omicron and a series of variants, reflecting their increasing ability of adaption to the environment. Its biological adaptation instinct enables its mutated strains to continuously evade the protection of vaccines in the process of evolution, and the toxicity is gradually weakened, so that the virus can adapt to the physical environment of the host (human or animal) to the greatest extent, and can coexist for a long time. Using adaptive characterization as the explanation method, it is shown that virus is an adaptive agent and its variation is the result of adaptive process. As a basic explanatory framework, adaptive representation reflects the essential operating mechanism of various functional systems.This method can well explain the changes in human immunity and the changes in understanding of the novel coronavirus, and also reflects the interpretation role of adaptive representation in biological variation, conceptual change and theoretical replacement, which can use adaptive representation to better understand the changes in the material structure of the virus and the evolutionary means based on environmental adaptability.
    
    VL  - 12
    IS  - 6
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • School of Philosophy, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China

  • School of Philosophy, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China

  • Sections