February 5, 2020
Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAmWill the New Coronavirus Keep Spreading or Not? You Have to Know One Little Number
Whenever there’s a new outbreak, scientists rush to calculate a number called R0, or R-naught. Why? It’s been a critical part of the scientific effort to understand just how transmissible the new virus is. Here’s how.
Editor’s Note (2/11/20): The video in this story has been revised after posting. It originally incorrectly referred to SARS as “sudden acute respiratory syndrome.” The full name is “severe acute respiratory syndrome.”
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