4 ms·

An alternative to the standard lab leak theory: Thee virus escaped a lab, but not wasn’t actually genetically manipulated - patient zero was exposed to a natur

• dqv 5y ago
  ??? I don't remember hearing anything about genetic manipulation being a part of the lab leak theory. My understanding is that these kinds of viruses are studied all the time without being modified.
  • cameldrv 5y ago
    The WIV is either the #1 or #2 lab worldwide in studying and genetically modifying coronaviruses. They had multiple active grants and recent published papers on this work.
  • acdha 5y ago
    That was the most common form - and the one raised by people familiar with the topic - but there were conspiracy theories alleging that it had been deliberately released, modified in the lab, or was even part of a bioweapon program. Given the political rancor and most of the world spending the year on social media, those got a lot of traction especially because anyone opposing China had the choice of amplifying them even if they didn’t really believe in them.
• Izkata 5y ago
  That is the standard lab-leak theory. Intentional manipulation of the virus was the strawman used to discredit it, by conflating the two. ...which is especially interesting in that it's going mainstream alongside more serious looks at the gain of function research that was funded there. This is actually more conspiratorial than what people had been saying for the past 14 months.