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(U) RNA (ribonucleic acid): A molecule essential for gene coding, decoding, regulation, and expression. The genome of certain viruses, including coronaviruses, is made of RNA rather than DNA.
(U) Virus: A replicating piece of genetic material—DNA or RNA—and associated proteins that use the cellular machinery of a living cell to reproduce.
(U) Zoonosis: An infection or a disease that is transmissible from animals to humans under natural conditions. A zoonotic pathogen may be viral, bacterial, or parasitic, and can sometimes be transmitted through insects, such as mosquitoes.
(U) Zoonotic spillover: An initial infection or disease that is caused by contact between an animal and human under natural conditions.
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