4 ms·

Is it possible the researchers handling this virus at the Wuhan Institute of Virology simply screwed up and the release was accidental? That seems like the mos

by auiya 7y ago

Is it possible the researchers handling this virus at the Wuhan Institute of Virology simply screwed up and the release was accidental? That seems like the most plausible explanation to me, and especially given the institute's proximity to the seafood market on which the Chinese officials blamed the outbreak. I think it's pretty plain to see the story we've all been fed about the seafood market was a deflection attempt. The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Wuhan has been working with bats and the various viruses they carry for many years... well before the BSL4 lab opened even. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17030870# https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17030870#

paulmd 7y ago
The suppression of researchers who sounded the alarm and forcing all the hospitals to return their samples certainly makes sense if you consider it as a "guilty reaction", after something they weren't supposed to be doing got loose. Or the government considers it embarrassing that the handlers were incompetent and this got loose. It could also just be the reaction of a government who is trying to downplay the virus and retain control of the narrative, however. Sequencing shows it's 96% similar to a wild strain of coronaviruses that has been previously studied in bats though, which argues against it being engineered.
- auiya 7y ago
  Yeah I agree, it's likely not an engineered virus at all. It was likely incompetence on the part of the handlers, and a subsequent cover up to try and reduce/deflect culpability.
  - souprock 7y ago
    Those are not opposites. An engineered virus can escape via incompetence. A non-engineered virus can be intentionally released. We can't prove that the virus was or was not engineered unless somebody finds a copyright message in the RNA. We do however know that the Wuhan lab had engineered similar viruses, slightly modifying bat coronaviruses so that they would be much more active against human cell lines.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
gred 7y ago
I've wondered the same, given the early Chinese resistance to outside help [1]. However, the Party will always prefer to downplay problems that threaten its grip on power, and this qualifies regardless of any possible lab involvement. [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/07/health/cdc-coronavirus-china.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/07/health/cdc-coronavirus-ch...

by auiya 7y ago

paulmd 7y ago

The suppression of researchers who sounded the alarm and forcing all the hospitals to return their samples certainly makes sense if you consider it as a "guilty reaction", after something they weren't supposed to be doing got loose. Or the government considers it embarrassing that the handlers were incompetent and this got loose. It could also just be the reaction of a government who is trying to downplay the virus and retain control of the narrative, however. Sequencing shows it's 96% similar to a wild strain of coronaviruses that has been previously studied in bats though, which argues against it being engineered.

auiya 7y ago
Yeah I agree, it's likely not an engineered virus at all. It was likely incompetence on the part of the handlers, and a subsequent cover up to try and reduce/deflect culpability.
- souprock 7y ago
  Those are not opposites. An engineered virus can escape via incompetence. A non-engineered virus can be intentionally released. We can't prove that the virus was or was not engineered unless somebody finds a copyright message in the RNA. We do however know that the Wuhan lab had engineered similar viruses, slightly modifying bat coronaviruses so that they would be much more active against human cell lines.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

gred 7y ago

I've wondered the same, given the early Chinese resistance to outside help [1]. However, the Party will always prefer to downplay problems that threaten its grip on power, and this qualifies regardless of any possible lab involvement. [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/07/health/cdc-coronavirus-china.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/07/health/cdc-coronavirus-ch...