4 ms·

>Based on the analysis of the publicly available information, it appears reasonable to conclude that the COVID-19 pandemic was, more likely than not, the result

>Based on the analysis of the publicly available information, it appears reasonable to conclude that the COVID-19 pandemic was, more likely than not, the result of a research-related incident. I knew it from the day 1; my layman understanding was that Covid variants in nature are not that virulent as Covid-19. Covid-19 was GOF experiment which went wrong in a sense that it lab leaked. Lab leaks happen all the time but not as impactful as this one. We should learn from our mistakes not sweep them under the carpet.

cassianoleal 4y ago
> Lab leaks happen all the time Honestly, that's terrifying to read. Do you have references to numbers of leaks or other information on the subject?
- mrkramer 4y ago
  There you go: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_laboratory_biosecurity_incidents https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_laboratory_biosecurity... You can also search previous Covid related discussions here on HN for more information.
  - tunap 4y ago
    Interesting that the 1989 Reston, VA release was not included... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hot_Zone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hot_Zone
    - mrkramer 4y ago
      Page says: "The list is grouped by the year in which the accident or incident occurred and does not include every reported laboratory-acquired infection. This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources." Wikipedia is crowd-sourced project, anyone can edit it if he or she thinks it is necessary(either something might be missing or something might be wrong).
  - triplebankshot 4y ago
    Also useful to look at a list of known LAIs (Lab-acquired infections): https://my.absa.org/LAI https://my.absa.org/LAI Most of these don't spread beyond the initially infected lab workers, but the sheer number is staggering.
TMWNN 4y ago
>We should learn from our mistakes not sweep them under the carpet. My understanding is that at the start of COVID19 scientists in related fields immediately assumed that a lab leak was the likely cause, and were dumbfounded to hear such a strong and immediate consensus (the Nature letter, for example) against such.

cassianoleal 4y ago

> Lab leaks happen all the time Honestly, that's terrifying to read. Do you have references to numbers of leaks or other information on the subject?

mrkramer 4y ago
There you go: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_laboratory_biosecurity_incidents https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_laboratory_biosecurity... You can also search previous Covid related discussions here on HN for more information.
- tunap 4y ago
  Interesting that the 1989 Reston, VA release was not included... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hot_Zone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hot_Zone
  - mrkramer 4y ago
    Page says: "The list is grouped by the year in which the accident or incident occurred and does not include every reported laboratory-acquired infection. This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources." Wikipedia is crowd-sourced project, anyone can edit it if he or she thinks it is necessary(either something might be missing or something might be wrong).
- triplebankshot 4y ago
  Also useful to look at a list of known LAIs (Lab-acquired infections): https://my.absa.org/LAI https://my.absa.org/LAI Most of these don't spread beyond the initially infected lab workers, but the sheer number is staggering.

TMWNN 4y ago

>We should learn from our mistakes not sweep them under the carpet. My understanding is that at the start of COVID19 scientists in related fields immediately assumed that a lab leak was the likely cause, and were dumbfounded to hear such a strong and immediate consensus (the Nature letter, for example) against such.