Wouldn’t the question be why epidemiologists don’t study this? As far as I’m aware virologists don’t study the transmission of viruses between people any detail, or at least this would be an out-of-paradigm research project for any virologist investigating it. I think the real question would be why epidemiologists don’t investigate it.
Spike proteins. Viral entry. Evolution of multipartite viruses. Capsid assembly and maturation. Receptor specificity and modularity. Various anti-host behaviors such as host DNA sequestration/degradation. Immortalization of host cells. Tracking viral lineages.
There’s literally thousands of things virologists are studying. They’re not studying airborne transmission because airborne transmission is not very virus-specific (and hence probably falling into the domain of epidemiology/physics), it’s expensive to do (you need communities of ferrets or other animals with similar respiratory systems for anything close to real applications), and it was generally assumed to have already been known (on aerosolized droplet sizes).
I’ve done research on virus transmission in ants, and how ant hygiene greatly impacts viral transmission within the colony. Is it applicable to humans? almost definitely not. But ants are cheap, grow fast, and therefore it’s easier to study.
It is also important to acknowledge that science isn’t focused on application, but rather understanding.
Wouldn’t the question be why epidemiologists don’t study this? As far as I’m aware virologists don’t study the transmission of viruses between people any detail, or at least this would be an out-of-paradigm research project for any virologist investigating it. I think the real question would be why epidemiologists don’t investigate it.
This might very well be the correct answer, that virologists just don’t feel responsible for virus transmission.
If virologists aren’t interested in the transmission of viruses, what’s that field about?
Spike proteins. Viral entry. Evolution of multipartite viruses. Capsid assembly and maturation. Receptor specificity and modularity. Various anti-host behaviors such as host DNA sequestration/degradation. Immortalization of host cells. Tracking viral lineages.
There’s literally thousands of things virologists are studying. They’re not studying airborne transmission because airborne transmission is not very virus-specific (and hence probably falling into the domain of epidemiology/physics), it’s expensive to do (you need communities of ferrets or other animals with similar respiratory systems for anything close to real applications), and it was generally assumed to have already been known (on aerosolized droplet sizes).
I’ve done research on virus transmission in ants, and how ant hygiene greatly impacts viral transmission within the colony. Is it applicable to humans? almost definitely not. But ants are cheap, grow fast, and therefore it’s easier to study.
It is also important to acknowledge that science isn’t focused on application, but rather understanding.