Scientists searching for the origins of COVID-19 have zeroed in on a short list of animals that possibly helped spread it to people, an effort they hope could allow them to trace the outbreak back to its source.

It involved analysing millions of short fragments of genetic code – both DNA and RNA – to establish what animals and viruses were in the market in January 2020. "We are seeing

Samples taken in the pandemic's early weeks reinforce hypothesis that coronavirus emerged from live animal market, not a laboratory, new study says.