The reason is that comes from bats. Bat immunology is wild. As I understand it, coming from bats to humans, a virus is basically coming from thousands of years in the future – of an evolutionary arms race.
Bats have evolved much more complexity in parts of their immune systems than us, and viruses along with them. They have extremely rapid metabolism and live packed together in ideal condition for viral transmission. Flight metabolism in bats is absolutely bonkers. Intense energy generation and the requisite damage control. Of DNA. And other stuff.
Bats handle viral infections quite differently than we do and can for example tolerate chronic infections with viruses that can and would kill humans. The arms race is so advanced that for them it’s no longer a question of exterminaton but successful containment. As species and individuals of that species, we do not handle chronic infection well. Note that bats have evolved these mechanisms through selection by survival, naturally accompanied with non-selection through death.
It was known and we were warned that bat viruses would mess us up. It was a known hazard and we were warned to watch for it and not let this happen due do these reasons.
Of bats and men: Immunomodulatory treatment options for COVID-19 guided by the immunopathology of SARS-CoV-2 infection, 2021: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciimmunol.abd0205
I wonder if this is the reason for the traditional association of bats with evil. Bats aren't directly dangerous to humans, they don't look scary like sharks, and they don't eat our foods, so it seems strange that they had such a bad image before conservationists started rehabilitating it. Maybe this was a mistake and we should have encouraged people to fear them.
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Indeed.
The reason is that comes from bats. Bat immunology is wild. As I understand it, coming from bats to humans, a virus is basically coming from thousands of years in the future – of an evolutionary arms race.
Bats have evolved much more complexity in parts of their immune systems than us, and viruses along with them. They have extremely rapid metabolism and live packed together in ideal condition for viral transmission. Flight metabolism in bats is absolutely bonkers. Intense energy generation and the requisite damage control. Of DNA. And other stuff.
Bats handle viral infections quite differently than we do and can for example tolerate chronic infections with viruses that can and would kill humans. The arms race is so advanced that for them it’s no longer a question of exterminaton but successful containment. As species and individuals of that species, we do not handle chronic infection well. Note that bats have evolved these mechanisms through selection by survival, naturally accompanied with non-selection through death.
It was known and we were warned that bat viruses would mess us up. It was a known hazard and we were warned to watch for it and not let this happen due do these reasons.
Bat virome on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat_virome
Novel Insights Into Immune Systems of Bats, 2020: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2020.0002...
Decoding bat immunity: the need for a coordinated research approach, 2021: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41577-021-00523-0
Revising the paradigm: Are bats really pathogen reservoirs or do they possess an efficient immune system?, 2022: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9379578/
Bats are “blind” to the deadly effects of viruses, editorial / paper highlight, 2018: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciimmunol.aau2259
Of bats and men: Immunomodulatory treatment options for COVID-19 guided by the immunopathology of SARS-CoV-2 infection, 2021: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciimmunol.abd0205
Long-Read Sequencing Reveals Rapid Evolution of Immunity- and Cancer-Related Genes in Bats, 2023: https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evad148
Antiviral Immune Responses of Bats: A Review, 2012: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1863-2378.2012.01528.x
Comparative Analysis of Bat Genomes Provides Insight into the Evolution of Flight and Immunity, 2012: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1230835
Immunological Control of Viral Infections in Bats and the Emergence of Viruses Highly Pathogenic to Humans, 2017: https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2017.01098
I wonder if this is the reason for the traditional association of bats with evil. Bats aren't directly dangerous to humans, they don't look scary like sharks, and they don't eat our foods, so it seems strange that they had such a bad image before conservationists started rehabilitating it. Maybe this was a mistake and we should have encouraged people to fear them.
I feel my hardware instincts don't react too strongly to bats. Nothing like the visceral reaction I get from snakes or spiders.