TigerDroppings Q Thread anon weighs in:
A receptor is a small (atomic level small) area that has to "fit" with part of the virus to contact and hold fast to allow entry into a cell. That is the "lock and key' he referred to as it is 3 dimensional.
The receptor area on the virus looks more akin to the SARS virus from years ago. The rest of the virus appears more like a native bat coronavirus.
How did those to "parts" get together? Natural selection or created in a lab? And if from a lab was it designed for defensive purposes to create vaccine or other treatment? Was it for more nefarious offensive purposes? Doubtful we will ever know the true purpose but it tilts the natural vs lab argument towards the lab in major fashion (IMO).
This article from 2005 may add more weight to the lab argument.
https://www.nature.com/news/engineered-bat-virus-stirs-debate-over-risky-research-1.18787?WT.mc_id=TWT_NatureNews&fbclid=IwAR0OHqbDXrULUNIQPsxfjLpEx86eIrA-_uvymQuBPdQlUtJ2KB9-KF7-g_M