Sixth Tone WIV thread
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Sixth Tone is an online mag. owned by the Shanghai United Media Group, a state-owned enterprise. It is published in English from China, and its readership is intended for people in Western countries
@uacjess @BillyBostickson
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixth_Tone
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Sixth Tone is an online mag. owned by the Shanghai United Media Group, a state-owned enterprise. It is published in English from China, and its readership is intended for people in Western countries
@uacjess @BillyBostickson
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixth_Tone
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BSL-4 laboratories are designed to effectively seal off experiment areas from the outside world. They also incorporate strict security measures, such as iris scanners.
sixthtone.com/news/1000921/i…
archive.is/5oanS
BSL-4 laboratories are designed to effectively seal off experiment areas from the outside world. They also incorporate strict security measures, such as iris scanners.
sixthtone.com/news/1000921/i…
archive.is/5oanS
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“Coronaviruses are badass,” Zhou said. “They [recombine] like building blocks.”
archive.is/IjdIX
sixthtone.com/news/1002044/c…
“Coronaviruses are badass,” Zhou said. “They [recombine] like building blocks.”
archive.is/IjdIX
sixthtone.com/news/1002044/c…
4/Intl cooperation and databases of precollected samples have greatly reduced the amount of time required to identify potentially deadly viruses, said Wang. “It only took us two months to identify SADS. That’s 10 times faster than how long it took to identify SARS a decade ago.”
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“The takeaway from this research is that regardless of whether it’s animals or humans, the methodology is the same,” Wang explained. “We are confident that, in the event of human infection, we can detect and diagnose the virus at an early stage.”
“The takeaway from this research is that regardless of whether it’s animals or humans, the methodology is the same,” Wang explained. “We are confident that, in the event of human infection, we can detect and diagnose the virus at an early stage.”
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NICE HAZMAT BRO
Luo Dongsheng, a researcher at the WIV, prepares nets used for catching bats at Taiyi Cave in Xianning, Hubei province, May 3, 2018. Wang Yiwei/Sixth Tone
NICE HAZMAT BRO
Luo Dongsheng, a researcher at the WIV, prepares nets used for catching bats at Taiyi Cave in Xianning, Hubei province, May 3, 2018. Wang Yiwei/Sixth Tone
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Luo and his fellow researchers’ Hubei expedition is but one leg of a regular sampling tour that takes them from the Tibetan highlands to the southern coast. Not all expeditions are as relaxed as the one at Taiyi Cave, Luo says.
Luo and his fellow researchers’ Hubei expedition is but one leg of a regular sampling tour that takes them from the Tibetan highlands to the southern coast. Not all expeditions are as relaxed as the one at Taiyi Cave, Luo says.
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Last year, he braved steep cliffs and treacherous thorn bushes to reach previously unstudied caves in Guangdong.
Last year, he braved steep cliffs and treacherous thorn bushes to reach previously unstudied caves in Guangdong.
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“Samples like these are of great value,” Luo later says from the comparative comfort of the WIV’s laboratories, where freezers store THOUSANDS OF VIRUS SAMPLES at minus 80 degrees Celsius.
“Samples like these are of great value,” Luo later says from the comparative comfort of the WIV’s laboratories, where freezers store THOUSANDS OF VIRUS SAMPLES at minus 80 degrees Celsius.
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“When there is a new outbreak [of disease], we can search the database, trace where the virus originated, and find out why it occurred in that location.”
“When there is a new outbreak [of disease], we can search the database, trace where the virus originated, and find out why it occurred in that location.”
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Last year, when 24,000 pigs in Guangdong province died of a mysterious illness, the WIV’s FREEZERS HELD THE KEY TO THE DISEASE'S ORIGIN: a coronavirus carried by native populations of horseshoe bats that is similar to SARS
Last year, when 24,000 pigs in Guangdong province died of a mysterious illness, the WIV’s FREEZERS HELD THE KEY TO THE DISEASE'S ORIGIN: a coronavirus carried by native populations of horseshoe bats that is similar to SARS
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Only when they raided the freezers for samples collected from the same area several years before did they finally find a genetic match
Only when they raided the freezers for samples collected from the same area several years before did they finally find a genetic match
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“Without abundant samples, we could not have drawn this conclusion, even though we knew the virus was bat-related,” says Zhou Peng, the article’s lead author and another researcher at the Emerging Viruses Group.
“Without abundant samples, we could not have drawn this conclusion, even though we knew the virus was bat-related,” says Zhou Peng, the article’s lead author and another researcher at the Emerging Viruses Group.
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Zhou also studies the pathogenicity of emerging viruses — the rates at which they infect humans and other animals. “We test the virus on [isolated] human cells or genetically modified mice to see if they become infected,” he says.
Zhou also studies the pathogenicity of emerging viruses — the rates at which they infect humans and other animals. “We test the virus on [isolated] human cells or genetically modified mice to see if they become infected,” he says.
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A researcher from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) swabs a bat at Taiyi Cave in Xianning, Hubei province, May 3, 2018. Wang Yiwei/Sixth Tone
A researcher from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) swabs a bat at Taiyi Cave in Xianning, Hubei province, May 3, 2018. Wang Yiwei/Sixth Tone
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Experts have assumed that lyssaviruses exist in China — with rabies cases sometimes making the news — but despite testing more than 3,000 bat samples in the past year, Luo hasn’t yet found any.
Experts have assumed that lyssaviruses exist in China — with rabies cases sometimes making the news — but despite testing more than 3,000 bat samples in the past year, Luo hasn’t yet found any.
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By 8:30 p.m., Luo’s team has collected a full rack of swabs and BAGGED A DOZEN LIVE BATS FOR FURTHER TESTING BACK AT THE LAB.
By 8:30 p.m., Luo’s team has collected a full rack of swabs and BAGGED A DOZEN LIVE BATS FOR FURTHER TESTING BACK AT THE LAB.
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A researcher prepares an experiment at the WIV laboratory in Wuhan, Hubei province, May 4, 2018. Wang Yiwei/Sixth Tone
A researcher prepares an experiment at the WIV laboratory in Wuhan, Hubei province, May 4, 2018. Wang Yiwei/Sixth Tone
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Luo hopes that this time, the results will come out differently. His colleague points out a firefly bobbing up and down in the pitch-black cave. “It might be a good omen,” Luo says with a smile.
Luo hopes that this time, the results will come out differently. His colleague points out a firefly bobbing up and down in the pitch-black cave. “It might be a good omen,” Luo says with a smile.
unroll plox 😘 @threadreaderapp
