SARS is a coronavirus.

What does it mean? It’s not as contagious as many feared–if you avoid being coughed or spit on, or wash up after that occurs, you can avoid it–it’s not transmitted through the air. And now that they’ve nailed it, they have a good chance of developing a vaccine.

[Update on Thursday morning]

Many viruses like this are species crossovers, usually from domesticated animals. But now there’s a report that the early victims had been handling wild game. That’s inconsistent with the story above, though. I guess they still don’t quite have it nailed down, or else this latest story is a false lead.