‘Beautiful’ photos of the coronavirus reduces fear of infection

Does this black-and-white photo of the actual SARS-CoV-2 virus from an electron microscope seem more dangerous and infectious than the colour 3D rendition further down in the article? — Photos: US CDC

The “beautiful” pictures of the coronavirus used to illustrate “ugly” news stories on the Covid-19 pandemic may be having a negative influence on how the population sees the threat of infection, researchers have found.

Scientists from the University Autonoma de Barcelona in Spain say people are less scared of getting Covid-19 when they see a nice-looking depiction of a coronavirus particle in the media.