Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #LabOrigins
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Going to do a serious thread on the new TWIV episode released today because it raises so many commonly held opinions on why #laborigins #labescape of COVID-19 was (extremely) unlikely.
Start ~27:20 min mark...
microbe.tv/twiv/twiv-734/
Start ~27:20 min mark...
microbe.tv/twiv/twiv-734/
I'm very, very glad that TWIV gets the obvious strawman out of the way immediately.
Very few experts - I can't think of any off the top of my head - are claiming that SARS2 was completely, magically designed from no similar virus in nature.
Very few experts - I can't think of any off the top of my head - are claiming that SARS2 was completely, magically designed from no similar virus in nature.
At the ~32:47 min mark, TWIV says "the dialogue has slowly shifted from it was made in a lab.. now it escaped.. How do we deal with that?"
I was surprised because in their June 2020 podcast, their guest says lab escape is a classic conspiracy theory.
I was surprised because in their June 2020 podcast, their guest says lab escape is a classic conspiracy theory.
Chatted with @schmidtwriting for his new @undarkmag article on the traps and dangers of advocating for an investigation into potential lab origins of covid-19. #laborigins #OriginsofCOVID
I think this piece by Charles @schmidtwriting was particularly well written because of how balanced it is. There were parts that I didn't like and had to grapple with. A lot has happened in the last year since I started looking into the evidence surrounding the #OriginsofCOVID
It comes at a time when the WHO-China team is expected to release their full report in the coming week(s). And @JamieMetzl and ~two dozen scientists (me too!) have posted a letter in the @WSJ pointing out major major flaws in the WHO-China not-an-investigation joint mission.
Really good piece in @NBCNews by @KenDilanianNBC et al.
Questions about how large the covid outbreak was in Wuhan, how early it could’ve started, maybe even Sep 2019 if there were already dozens of unconnected cases in October.. nbcnews.com/health/health-…
Questions about how large the covid outbreak was in Wuhan, how early it could’ve started, maybe even Sep 2019 if there were already dozens of unconnected cases in October.. nbcnews.com/health/health-…
Extremely challenging to answer these questions without access to thousands of banked patient samples from Wuhan from fall 2019, and the actual non-aggregated patient records from that time. Not just the 90+ shortlist but thousands of people with pneumonia in Wuhan fall 2019.
Office of Director of National Intelligence: agency "will continue to rigorously examine emerging information.. to determine whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan" nbcnews.com/health/health-… 
We heard from the @washingtonpost editorial board on the need to investigate #laborigins of covid-19.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/globa…
@WSJ editorial board is now also saying the lab hypothesis is important to investigate!
wsj.com/articles/who-a…
washingtonpost.com/opinions/globa…
@WSJ editorial board is now also saying the lab hypothesis is important to investigate!
wsj.com/articles/who-a…
Live @WHO presser courtesy of @guardiannews:
Mike Ryan said WHO #originsofcovid mission didn't and doesn't have powers or mandate to investigate. What they participated in, inside China, was a "collaborative process of discovery."
Mike Ryan said WHO #originsofcovid mission didn't and doesn't have powers or mandate to investigate. What they participated in, inside China, was a "collaborative process of discovery."
Oh good, someone asked about the 13 early covid-19 virus genomes from Wuhan!
A few identical sequences were from the same individuals. Some sequences with no links to the market were slightly different.
Clarified! Not different strains.
A few identical sequences were from the same individuals. Some sequences with no links to the market were slightly different.
Clarified! Not different strains.
Interview of @Peterfoodsafety @WHO #originsofcovid investigation. On lab origins, “this would not be something that this team, or I believe even WHO alone, would be able to move forward on. That would have to be, I believe, a United Nations-wide approach...”
Well, we just heard it (or read it), and I agree with this assessment- if the international community wants an investigation of lab origins, this team and even WHO cannot be the ones investigating. We need a separate, credible, independent investigation into #laborigins of covid.
What are we waiting for?
Lab leak is a plausible hypothesis that should be investigated regardless of how likely or unlikely.
Lab leak is a plausible hypothesis that should be investigated regardless of how likely or unlikely.
More on the @WHO #originsofcovid investigation...
“disagreements over patient records and other issues were so tense that they sometimes erupted into shouts among the typically mild-mannered scientists on both sides” nytimes.com/2021/02/12/wor…
“disagreements over patient records and other issues were so tense that they sometimes erupted into shouts among the typically mild-mannered scientists on both sides” nytimes.com/2021/02/12/wor…
“rules to thwart outbreaks in China meant that the team could not gather with their counterparts for meals and informal talks”
Essentially, there was no chance for private communication.
Essentially, there was no chance for private communication.
“Fabian Leendertz, a German.. member of the team.. said the team agreed to include the frozen food theory among its hypotheses “to respect, a bit, the findings” of the Chinese scientists.”
Yes, and now Chinese media are reporting that covid likely originated via imported 🧊🐠
Yes, and now Chinese media are reporting that covid likely originated via imported 🧊🐠
I think, that was a good try @WHO to get actual data from China.
But now that it looks like that's not going to work, we should be setting up independent and credible investigations into the origins.
But now that it looks like that's not going to work, we should be setting up independent and credible investigations into the origins.
If @WHO is going to investigate Italy, SE Asia, and #popsicleorigins
We need actual teams that can investigate zoonotic spillover and #laborigins - preferably with international representation and absence of COIs/pre-existing relationships that could discredit investigation.
We need actual teams that can investigate zoonotic spillover and #laborigins - preferably with international representation and absence of COIs/pre-existing relationships that could discredit investigation.
One major weakness of the WHO investigation was that there was no other ongoing investigation that could hold it accountable or that WHO could use as leverage to force more transparency from China. No, the Lancet investigation headed by Peter Daszak obvs doesn't count.
Dominic Dwyer, a member of the WHO team, on whether the covid virus could've originated from a lab accident: “Now, whether we were shown everything? You can never know. The group wasn’t designed to go and do a forensic examination of lab practice.”
nature.com/articles/d4158…
nature.com/articles/d4158…
WHO team chatted w Wuhan scientists, voted if lab origins were likely. This doesn't count as an investigation into #laborigins I hope @WHO knows that. "you don't want to jump to a conclusion based on several hours of conversation with Chinese scientists"
washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pac…
washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pac…
Jesse Bloom, virologist @fredhutch "surprised to see some members of the team dismiss the accidental lab leak theory while seeming to suggest, without any specific evidence, the possibility that frozen food might have played a role."
washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pac…
washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pac…
“Daszak responded to reports that the U.S. government wishes to independently verify any findings of the WHO team, by impugning the motives of President Joe Biden and casting aspersions on the integrity of the U.S. intelligence community.” rogerpielkejr.substack.com/p/the-who-covi…
Spot-on analysis by @RogerPielkeJr of why the press conference is problematic for @WHO “A future departure from initial claims.. can easily be seen (and spun) as delegitimizing of the committee’s work. So the origins committee is now effectively locked in to these conclusions..”
Please see the @StateDept response to the @WHO #originsofcovid investigation here state.gov/briefings/depa…
I want to get a bit serious about the @WHO's dismissal of lab escape as a potential origins of the covid virus.
I'm keen to see their full report. However, the handling of the current pandemic shows that a country can get likely a pass on lab escape (or bioweapons) as long as...
I'm keen to see their full report. However, the handling of the current pandemic shows that a country can get likely a pass on lab escape (or bioweapons) as long as...
(1) They don't publish their research in real time - this already isn't happening in science, and why would you publish original data/seqs if you were working covertly on pathogens?
(2) They don't give you access to their lab records or data, and tell you they have good safety.
(2) They don't give you access to their lab records or data, and tell you they have good safety.
The question is what we're giving up in the future so that we can pretend this pandemic's origin is resolved today.
Do we need another mysterious outbreak in a city with a renowned pathogen lab in the next decade before we get serious about asking what's happening in these labs?
Do we need another mysterious outbreak in a city with a renowned pathogen lab in the next decade before we get serious about asking what's happening in these labs?
@who going to investigate Covid-19 originating from frozen foods rather than #laborigins because lab leak too unlikely based on what the Wuhan lab personnel told them.
Not too confident that this @who team has much insight to the lab leak hypothesis - the WIV’s SARS research was done at BL2 and BL3 all these years, not BL4. Team could benefit from a lab leak/biosecurity expert weighing in on their report.
So the team says the virus was spreading before the Huanan market but that intermediate host is still the most likely #originsofcovid I’m keen to see the evidence that points to an intermediate host. Also, no mention of pangolins now? #pangolinpapers
Public service: This is now the link to the archived Fact Sheet released by the previous State Department concerning activities at the Wuhan Institute of Virology that could point to possible #laborigins of the covid-19 virus.
2017-2021.state.gov/fact-sheet-act…
2017-2021.state.gov/fact-sheet-act…
@washingtonpost says "If the U.S. government possesses information to corroborate that statement, it should release it, including declassifying any intelligence." washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
The situation right now, I presume, is that the intelligence cannot be declassified because of endangering the source(s).
In that case, please create a curated list of non-gov people who can see this intelligence. There is a lot at stake.
In that case, please create a curated list of non-gov people who can see this intelligence. There is a lot at stake.
The extended, slightly more technical (more comprehensive), zero paywall version of our article @mattwridley on #originsofcovid
Essentially, anyone asking me about evidence for lab origins should read this article first and then talk to me later.
rationaloptimist.com/8691
Essentially, anyone asking me about evidence for lab origins should read this article first and then talk to me later.
rationaloptimist.com/8691
Our article includes a shoutout to the many internet sleuths (some scientists) who unearthed the connection between 2012 SARS-like cases in Yunnan and the closest virus genome to SARS-CoV-2 (covid virus). But you can read more about DRASTIC here: mygenomix.medium.com/the-origin-of-…
Article also contains the list of experts with links on each of their names so you don’t have to scroll through my 🧵 to collect all the links.
@meghan_daum was super nice to invite @FilippaLentzos and I on her podcast this week. It's going to be released tomorrow night or you can join Patreon to listen now.
In the podcast, we get into why it's been so challenging to talk about Covid-19 possibly originating from a lab..
In the podcast, we get into why it's been so challenging to talk about Covid-19 possibly originating from a lab..
I really loved the group podcast style because I learnt so much from @FilippaLentzos who is 100% eloquent in explaining what is happening in the big picture - geopolitically - and @meghan_daum who is extremely skillful at asking us the key questions the public wants answers to.
Being unable to talk about #laborigins without being attacked (even by your friends) has been a problem for both scientists and journalists since the start of this pandemic.
A lot of journalists say that scientists refused to go public with suspicions of Covid-19 lab leak...
A lot of journalists say that scientists refused to go public with suspicions of Covid-19 lab leak...
This is the 2nd half of the piece on the #originsofcovid that @mattwridley was very nice to invite me to co-write.
In the first 1/2 @WSJ we advocated for a credible investigation. In this 2/2 @Telegraph we revisit the story of the search for the origins.
telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/02/0…
In the first 1/2 @WSJ we advocated for a credible investigation. In this 2/2 @Telegraph we revisit the story of the search for the origins.
telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/02/0…
I know that there are a growing number of similar pieces out there now including yesterday's @washingtonpost editorial board opinion, @NYMag @nicholsonbaker8 lab leak hypothesis, and @BillNye podcast interview of @DavidRelman - all superb reads/listens.
In our piece in the @Telegraph @mattwridley and I lay out for the non-scientist what has been investigated so far, what the public has been told in the past year re: #originsofcovid and why we think that #laborigins are plausible and must be investigated. telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/02/0…
I told you that lab origins is so hot right now.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/…
Thank you @TheSeeker268 for the heads up.
So @washingtonpost since you're just starting to report on the bat CoV sampling, chimeric viruses, the Mojiang miners, the missing database, and EcoHealth ties to the WIV - are you interested in talking to me about all these naughty papers coming out of China?
