3 ms·
> “We’re looking at spike proteins of bat viruses that are already out there,” Fauci said. “We’re not manipulating them to make them more or less likely to bind
by mandmandam 5y ago
> “We’re looking at spike proteins of bat viruses that are already out there,” Fauci said. “We’re not manipulating them to make them more or less likely to bind to human cells. We’re just asking, ‘Do they, or not?’”
...They weren't playing with the spike proteins of coronaviruses a few miles from the first major outbreak with the intention of making them more infectious; they were just seeing if they could.
Am I reading this right?
- belltaco 5y agoNo, you're not. To test if bat viruses can infect humans, they're taking the spike proteins of bat viruses and splicing them to backbone viruses. This new virus cannot replicate itself, it will only replicate the harmless backbone virus. As I wrote in another comment, it's like your arms are replaced with a chimpanzee's arms. When you have a baby, that baby will have human arms, not chimpanzee's arms, because the genetic material is not altered.