3 ms·

The theory that Covid-19 escaped from a lab may not be far-fetched

22 points by midef 5y ago

lsb 5y ago
The New York Post is a disreputable Murdoch newspaper, and does not justify the extraordinary claims with extraordinary evidence. I couldn't use the Post in high school newspaper citations.
- excalibur 5y ago
  Regardless of the source, the arguments seem pretty convincing. The politics are thick, but the facts still seem to speak for themselves. Does anyone have a solid point-by-point refutation? Preferably NOT in the form of a podcast?
- mc32 5y ago
  I don’t think any daily mainstream publication right now has any bankable reputation. They have all had major omissions and errors or outright falsehoods in the last few years. So, singling out the NY Post, is only going half way. They all are guilty of pushing agendas with questionable supporting arguments.
- listless 5y ago
  It does certainly verge on being a tabloid at times. While I don’t know that it’s a reputable source, neither is the NYT, or public health for that matter, when it comes to matters with clear elements of race. When you sign an open letter saying that police violence is as much a public health threat to Blacks as the pandemic, you’ve lost all credibility. I don’t know that we even posses the capacity to know the truth anymore. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Jyfn4Wd2i6bRi12ePghMHtX3ys1b7K1A/view?usp=drivesdk https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Jyfn4Wd2i6bRi12ePghMHtX3ys1...
platz 5y ago
Folks from the This Week in Virology podcast seem pretty convinced it didn't come from the lab.
- midef 5y ago
  I haven't heard the podcast. Did they make the distinction between "lab created" and "accidental release?" Some of Wade's ideas are interesting, but I don't like his guilty-until-proven-innocent tone regarding lab creation. On the other hand, accidental release is a different matter with clear precedent. It is generally accepted that SARS-CoV originated in animals, yet it also generally accepted that SARS-CoV was accidentally released from multiple laboratories in the early 2000s, resulting in pocket outbreaks: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3323155/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3323155/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC416634/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC416634/
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
tolbish 5y ago
Yikes. Just because the Wuhan market didn’t sell bats at the time of the outbreak doesn't mean the virus came from a lab.
merricksb 5y ago
Original source discussed previously: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27071432 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27071432

22 points by midef 5y ago

lsb 5y ago

The New York Post is a disreputable Murdoch newspaper, and does not justify the extraordinary claims with extraordinary evidence. I couldn't use the Post in high school newspaper citations.

excalibur 5y ago
Regardless of the source, the arguments seem pretty convincing. The politics are thick, but the facts still seem to speak for themselves. Does anyone have a solid point-by-point refutation? Preferably NOT in the form of a podcast?
mc32 5y ago
I don’t think any daily mainstream publication right now has any bankable reputation. They have all had major omissions and errors or outright falsehoods in the last few years. So, singling out the NY Post, is only going half way. They all are guilty of pushing agendas with questionable supporting arguments.
listless 5y ago
It does certainly verge on being a tabloid at times. While I don’t know that it’s a reputable source, neither is the NYT, or public health for that matter, when it comes to matters with clear elements of race. When you sign an open letter saying that police violence is as much a public health threat to Blacks as the pandemic, you’ve lost all credibility. I don’t know that we even posses the capacity to know the truth anymore. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Jyfn4Wd2i6bRi12ePghMHtX3ys1b7K1A/view?usp=drivesdk https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Jyfn4Wd2i6bRi12ePghMHtX3ys1...

platz 5y ago

Folks from the This Week in Virology podcast seem pretty convinced it didn't come from the lab.

midef 5y ago
I haven't heard the podcast. Did they make the distinction between "lab created" and "accidental release?" Some of Wade's ideas are interesting, but I don't like his guilty-until-proven-innocent tone regarding lab creation. On the other hand, accidental release is a different matter with clear precedent. It is generally accepted that SARS-CoV originated in animals, yet it also generally accepted that SARS-CoV was accidentally released from multiple laboratories in the early 2000s, resulting in pocket outbreaks: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3323155/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3323155/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC416634/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC416634/
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]

tolbish 5y ago

Yikes. Just because the Wuhan market didn’t sell bats at the time of the outbreak doesn't mean the virus came from a lab.

merricksb 5y ago

Original source discussed previously: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27071432 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27071432