Coronavirus is the one word permanently in news headlines at the moment. But what is a coronavirus?

The word coronavirus describes not one but a family of viruses that can cause illness in both humans and animals, according to national research body UK Research and Innovation.

There have been seven difference types of coronavirus identified in people, including the one behind the current pandemic - officially named by scientists as Covid-19.

However, there are other types of coronavirus. One was responsible for the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak in 2002, which killed a worldwide total of 774 people.

Another type was responsible for the 2012 MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome) outbreak, which as of this January the World Health Organisation estimates to have killed more than 860 people.

Scientists believe these two previous coronavirus outbreaks caused more severe symptoms than the current Covid-19 outbreak - though both were less contagious than the one currently sweeping the globe.

The other four kinds of coronavirus are common, and normally cause only mild illness in healthy adults.

However, in people with weak immune systems, they can cause life-threatening illnesses.

Coronaviruses are called as such because, when viewed under a microscope, their shape is somewhat similar to a crown - corona is Latin for crown.

Detergents and alcohol-based cleaning products are effective at disrupting the membrane which holds the coronavirus together, which explains why vigilant handwashing and disinfecting of surfaces is a vital strategy for fighting the virus.

Unfortunately, because the Covid-19 coronavirus is brand new, human bodies have not had the time to develop an immunity to it, which makes it easy for the virus to spread throughout the population.

However, scientists across the world are currently working on creating a vaccine for Covid-19, which when completed should help health workers across the globe to more effectively tackle the pandemic.

Visit coronavirusexplained.ukri.org/en for more information about coronavirus, put together by UK Research and Innovation and drawing on scientific expertise from across the country's academic community.