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The article never mentions the gain of function research being done internationally where viruses are enhanced with abilities not found in the wild. This Newsw

by todd8 6y ago

The article never mentions the gain of function research being done internationally where viruses are enhanced with abilities not found in the wild. This Newsweek article, from almost a year, ago discusses the possibility that this kind of research that was being done at the Wuhan lab was responsible for the outbreak. https://www.newsweek.com/controversial-wuhan-lab-experiments-that-may-have-started-coronavirus-pandemic-1500503 https://www.newsweek.com/controversial-wuhan-lab-experiments...

mytailorisrich 6y ago
I think that the article is very well put together and informative, and has the merit of stirring well clear of 'hypotheses' and other FUD stories like the one you mention in order to stay focussed on facts. SARS was traced to bats, MERS is probably from bats as well, they've already found bats that harbour virii 96% similar to SARS-CoV-2, and the overwhelming consensus is that SARS-CoV-2 is natural, so it seems logical and prudent to stick to that unless or until factual evidence of the contrary surface. The kind or research carried out at the lab in Wuhan is neither here nor there, really.
- todd8 6y ago
  My concern is should we, the US and China, be doing gain of function research at all. This research investigates the possible routes/mutations that viruses can use to infect a different species. However, the results of this research are new variants of viruses that are capable of jumping from an animal to a human host. Is it possible to handle these new viruses safely, maybe not considering the worldwide devastation that might be released though a mistake in handling these invisible pathogens. I understand that the research does aid our understanding of how a virus might perform the difficult act of jumping between host species in the wild; this is important because it does (rarely) happen on its own. Should we be taking chances by creating zoonotic viruses in light of millions of deaths due to this one (regardless of whether it was a lab mistake or a bat sold at a market).
- luxuryballs 6y ago
  “Utilizing the SARS-CoV infectious clone, we generated and characterized a chimeric virus expressing the spike of bat coronavirus SHC014 in a mouse adapted SARS-CoV backbone” https://www.med.unc.edu/orfeome/files/2018/03/a-sars-like-cluster-of-circulating-bat-coronaviruses-shows-potential-for-human-emergence.pdf https://www.med.unc.edu/orfeome/files/2018/03/a-sars-like-cl... and speaking of Wuhan... http://ge.usembassy.gov/fact-sheet-activity-at-the-wuhan-institute-of-virology/ http://ge.usembassy.gov/fact-sheet-activity-at-the-wuhan-ins... The U.S. government has reason to believe that several researchers inside the WIV became sick in autumn 2019, before the first identified case of the outbreak, with symptoms consistent with both COVID-19 and common seasonal illnesses. This raises questions about the credibility of WIV senior researcher Shi Zhengli’s public claim that there was “zero infection” among the WIV’s staff and students of SARS-CoV-2 or SARS-related viruses. Accidental infections in labs have caused several previous virus outbreaks in China and elsewhere, including a 2004 SARS outbreak in Beijing that infected nine people, killing one. The CCP has prevented independent journalists, investigators, and global health authorities from interviewing researchers at the WIV, including those who were ill in the fall of 2019. Any credible inquiry into the origin of the virus must include interviews with these researchers and a full accounting of their previously unreported illness.

by todd8 6y ago

mytailorisrich 6y ago

I think that the article is very well put together and informative, and has the merit of stirring well clear of 'hypotheses' and other FUD stories like the one you mention in order to stay focussed on facts. SARS was traced to bats, MERS is probably from bats as well, they've already found bats that harbour virii 96% similar to SARS-CoV-2, and the overwhelming consensus is that SARS-CoV-2 is natural, so it seems logical and prudent to stick to that unless or until factual evidence of the contrary surface. The kind or research carried out at the lab in Wuhan is neither here nor there, really.

todd8 6y ago
My concern is should we, the US and China, be doing gain of function research at all. This research investigates the possible routes/mutations that viruses can use to infect a different species. However, the results of this research are new variants of viruses that are capable of jumping from an animal to a human host. Is it possible to handle these new viruses safely, maybe not considering the worldwide devastation that might be released though a mistake in handling these invisible pathogens. I understand that the research does aid our understanding of how a virus might perform the difficult act of jumping between host species in the wild; this is important because it does (rarely) happen on its own. Should we be taking chances by creating zoonotic viruses in light of millions of deaths due to this one (regardless of whether it was a lab mistake or a bat sold at a market).
luxuryballs 6y ago
“Utilizing the SARS-CoV infectious clone, we generated and characterized a chimeric virus expressing the spike of bat coronavirus SHC014 in a mouse adapted SARS-CoV backbone” https://www.med.unc.edu/orfeome/files/2018/03/a-sars-like-cluster-of-circulating-bat-coronaviruses-shows-potential-for-human-emergence.pdf https://www.med.unc.edu/orfeome/files/2018/03/a-sars-like-cl... and speaking of Wuhan... http://ge.usembassy.gov/fact-sheet-activity-at-the-wuhan-institute-of-virology/ http://ge.usembassy.gov/fact-sheet-activity-at-the-wuhan-ins... The U.S. government has reason to believe that several researchers inside the WIV became sick in autumn 2019, before the first identified case of the outbreak, with symptoms consistent with both COVID-19 and common seasonal illnesses. This raises questions about the credibility of WIV senior researcher Shi Zhengli’s public claim that there was “zero infection” among the WIV’s staff and students of SARS-CoV-2 or SARS-related viruses. Accidental infections in labs have caused several previous virus outbreaks in China and elsewhere, including a 2004 SARS outbreak in Beijing that infected nine people, killing one. The CCP has prevented independent journalists, investigators, and global health authorities from interviewing researchers at the WIV, including those who were ill in the fall of 2019. Any credible inquiry into the origin of the virus must include interviews with these researchers and a full accounting of their previously unreported illness.