5 ms·
While the headline talks about covid, I found other bits of the article scary. For instance the supposed lax handling of pathogens like smallpox. While I would
by 0xcafecafe 6y ago
While the headline talks about covid, I found other bits of the article scary. For instance the supposed lax handling of pathogens like smallpox. While I would trust the worldwide scientific community for covid origin theories, I cannot look past the egregious safety violations reported in the article (if true).
- loveistheanswer 6y ago>While I would trust the worldwide scientific community for covid origin theories Which scientific community are you referring to? There are countless scientists who have been arguing against the risks of gain of function research for many years. Why are pro-gain of function scientists deathly silent now about the supposed benefits of their research?
- jMyles 6y agoI had the same thought. Maybe it's just the crowd I run with, but criticism of gain-of-function research (certainly including informed speculation of a lab escape for this coronavirus) seem very mainstream to me.
- Pyramus 6y agoI believe grand-parent was talking about a lab leak, not necessarily with gain of function research being involved, and scientists dismissal. Which is not a dismissal at all. What scientists are saying is that both zoonotic transfer and lab leak are plausible, but that we don't have evidence for the latter (yet!) and the former is more likely. In many media articles this simplifies to 'scientists say virus origins are zoonotic'.
- loveistheanswer 6y ago>the former is more likely. Is this likelihood differential being calculated using data, or is it just a hypothesis?
- Pyramus 6y agoJust a binary variable 'A more likely than B' or vice versa formed from prior zoonotic transfers and lab escapes. I don't think at this point it is credible to assign probabilities to either hypothesis (which are assumed to be exclusive here).