3 ms·
Would being a result of gain of function research with a particular furin cleavage site be considered “bio engineered”?
by dsyrk 5y ago
Would being a result of gain of function research with a particular furin cleavage site be considered “bio engineered”?
- Guvante 5y agoI don't feel like playing "there isn't enough evidence to prove me wrong"
- dsyrk 5y agoSource: https://thebulletin.org/2021/05/the-origin-of-covid-did-people-or-nature-open-pandoras-box-at-wuhan/ https://thebulletin.org/2021/05/the-origin-of-covid-did-peop... Relevant text: For the lab escape scenario, the double CGG codon is no surprise. The human-preferred codon is routinely used in labs. So anyone who wanted to insert a furin cleavage site into the virus’s genome would synthesize the PRRA-making sequence in the lab and would be likely to use CGG codons to do so. “When I first saw the furin cleavage site in the viral sequence, with its arginine codons, I said to my wife it was the smoking gun for the origin of the virus,” said David Baltimore, an eminent virologist and former president of CalTech. “These features make a powerful challenge to the idea of a natural origin for SARS2,” he said.