how do viruses get there name – Pandemic Prevention Zone

Question: how do viruses get there name
- Keywords:
  name,
  virus
Asked by Stellan on 17 Jan 2022.
- Chloe Jones answered on 17 Jan 2022:
  
  Great question! So there is actually the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses that is a group of scientists that get together to name new viruses (and occasionally viruses into different groups if we learn something new about them). Many viruses are named based on what they look like- for example coronaviruses get their name because corona means crown in latin! On the surface of the virus there are lots of proteins that look like crowns!
- Jonny Coates answered on 17 Jan 2022:
  
  Chloe gave the answer but I’ll add a little fun fact. A lot of naming things in science is actually done by committees but when you work on fruit flies you get to name the gene/phenotype if you discover it. This has resulted in some really funny gene names like Cheap Date, Ken & Barbie, Hedgehog, Lush, Dreadlocks, Tinman, Clown and so many more!

Question: how do viruses get there name