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for those with SciAm subs, this June 2020 print article is a profile of the first scientist to encounter Covid. She had spent a decade in caves around China inv
by marstall 5y ago
for those with SciAm subs, this June 2020 print article is a profile of the first scientist to encounter Covid. She had spent a decade in caves around China investigating SARS and was therefore called on when early reports of Covid arose.
I read this before all the lab leak theories came out, and I'm glad I did because it makes them all seem ridiculous.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-chinas-bat-woman-hunted-down-viruses-from-sars-to-the-new-coronavirus1/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-chinas-bat-wo...
- rasz 5y agoShe was "called on" to Wuhan WIV where virus first emerged and where she has been working for at least 7 years and where all of her research was funded by EcoHealth Alliance grants? same EcoHealth Alliance which submitted this gain of function grand proposal in 2018 https://theintercept.com/2021/09/23/coronavirus-research-grant-darpa/ https://theintercept.com/2021/09/23/coronavirus-research-gra... ?
- basch 5y agoMore about her. "Also, Dr. Shi was trained by Ralph S. Baric of the University of North Carolina in building “chimera” viruses — taking, for example, the spike protein from a new virus and splicing it to the backbone of a known one like SARS. He invented “no-see-um” techniques that left no trace of the splice." source https://donaldgmcneiljr1954.medium.com/how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-lab-leak-theory-f4f88446b04d https://donaldgmcneiljr1954.medium.com/how-i-learned-to-stop... https://www.researchgate.net/publication/8119695_Development_of_mouse_hepatitis_virus_and_SARS-CoV_infectious_cDNA_constructs https://www.researchgate.net/publication/8119695_Development...
- akiselev 5y ago> the spike protein from a new virus and splicing it to the backbone of a known one like SARS The spike protein was already a defining feature of SARS-CoV when it emerged and became "known" [1]. That's why it was classified as a coronavirus! [2] Edit: Appears I have misread, see reply [1] https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.1086418 https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.1086418 [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronavirus#Structure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronavirus#Structure
- basch 5y agoI dont fully follow what you are saying. The statement was about grafting a new spike in place of an old one. Where is it implied that SARS doesnt have a spike? I dont even think that is the important takeaway. The no-see-um editing technique can apply to more than just spike proteins. I dont think its being implied that thats what happened.