Coronavirus representations compared with a global pattern of nuclear explosions

Reimagining Coronavirus in 3D as a Metaphor of Global Society in Distress (Part #2)

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Global dissemination of coronavirus depictions: There is no lack of depictions of various forms of the coronavirus as a spherical particle, otherwise termed a virion. It is the glycoprotein "spikes" protruding from each virion which make infection possible, enabling invasion of the host cells (Ana Shulla, et al, Role of Spike Protein Endodomains in Regulating Coronavirus Entry, The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 284, 2009; Scientists in the Netherlands reveal 3-D structure of coronavirus, CORDIS, 18 April 2003)

As widely indicated, the name coronavirus is derived from the Latin corona, meaning "crown" or "halo", which refers to the characteristic appearance reminiscent of a crown or a solar corona around the virions when viewed under two-dimensional transmission electron microscopy, due to the surface covering in club-shaped protein spikes.

Typically, in conformity with the constraints of global communication (even in times of crisis), these depictions are variously subject to copyright (and paywalls) and cannot be readily reproduced in this document. The following are reproduced thanks to the policy of Wikipedia, however it is appropriate to note the policy of some lading members of the International Publishers Association in enabling access exceptionally to documents on coronavirus research (but not on reproduction of their content).

Depictions of the coronavirus
Ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses. Note the spikes that adorn the outer surface of the virus, which impart the look of a corona surrounding the virion, when viewed electron microscopically.	Images combined from a 3D medical animation, depicting the shape of coronavirus as well as the cross-sectional view. Image shows the major elements including the Spike S protein, HE protein, viral envelope, and helical RNA
CDC/ Alissa Eckert, MS; Dan Higgins, MAM / Public domain	Reproduced from Wikipedia https://www.scientificanimations.com / CC BY-SA

An animation of a coronavirus particle rotating to show structure with the characteristic halo of spikes is also accessible from Russell Kightley Premium Scientific Pictures.

Global pattern of nuclear explosions? The media and political focus on the coronavirus pandemic occurs in a period in which the famous Doomsday Clock, maintained since 1947 by the members of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has been reset. Originally set at seven minutes to midnight in 1947, the clock was set at two minutes to midnight in January 2018, and left unchanged in 2019 due to the twin threats of nuclear weapons and the increasing effects of global warming. On 23 January 2020, it was moved forward to 100 seconds (1 minute 40 seconds) before midnight, based on the increased threats to global stability posed by "a nuclear blunder", exacerbated by the rate of climate change.

Of some relevance to the seemingly unusual comparison made here is the focus of an interview with Jeffrey Lewis (John Krzyzaniak, How the coronavirus outbreak is like a nuclear attack: An interview with Jeffrey Lewis, The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, 20 March 2020).

As a visual metaphor, the argument developed here suggests a comparison between the "spikes" on the coronavirus (especially those in red on the left above) with the widely publicized depictions of the mushroom cloud of a nuclear explosion (as shown below). A nuclear "doomsday" would see a pattern of such explosions around the globe -- suggestively reminiscent of the pattern of spikes around the coronavirus.

Depictions of a thermonuclear explosion
Inside a rising mushroom cloud: denser air rapidly forces itself into the bottom center of the toroidal fireball, which turbulently mixes into the familiar cloud appearance.	Animated atomic bomb explosion. Sequence showing mushroom cloud formation from a U.S. nuclear weapon test at the Nevada Test Site. Probably from Operation Tumbler-Snapper, 1952	Mushroom cloud from the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan on August 9, 1945.
Reproduced from Wikipedia	Marcin n®, recreated from scratch by Quibik / CC BY-SA	Charles Levy / Public domain

Rather then any exclusive focus on the physical nature of nuclear explosions, their form could be understood as a metaphor for the "eruption" of socio-economic, environmental and psychosocial crises around the globe. Argued otherwise, in the light of increasing focus on information warfare and memetic warfare, the eruptions could be notably recognized in such terms.

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