1/
The Curious Case of Kai Kupferschmidt and Linfa Wang
@BillyBostickson @uacjess @WhereIsYanLing @gdemaneuf @Daoyu15
The Curious Case of Kai Kupferschmidt and Linfa Wang
@BillyBostickson @uacjess @WhereIsYanLing @gdemaneuf @Daoyu15
2/
This biologist helped trace SARS to bats. Now, he’s working to uncover the origins of COVID-19
By Kai Kupferschmidt Sep. 30, 2020 , 2:10 PM
archive.is/1lGLr
sciencemag.org/news/2020/09/b…
This biologist helped trace SARS to bats. Now, he’s working to uncover the origins of COVID-19
By Kai Kupferschmidt Sep. 30, 2020 , 2:10 PM
archive.is/1lGLr
sciencemag.org/news/2020/09/b…
3/
"By pure chance, Linfa Wang, one of the world’s foremost experts on emerging viruses, was in the Chinese city of Wuhan in January."
LMAO yeah right
@BillyBostickson @uacjess @WhereIsYanLing
"By pure chance, Linfa Wang, one of the world’s foremost experts on emerging viruses, was in the Chinese city of Wuhan in January."
LMAO yeah right
@BillyBostickson @uacjess @WhereIsYanLing
4/
! On Dec. 30, Wuhan health officials issued internal notices warning of the unusual pneumonia, which leaked on social media. That evening, Shi Zhengli was alerted. Shi took the first train from a conference in Shanghai back to Wuhan.
archive.is/Nue1t
! On Dec. 30, Wuhan health officials issued internal notices warning of the unusual pneumonia, which leaked on social media. That evening, Shi Zhengli was alerted. Shi took the first train from a conference in Shanghai back to Wuhan.
archive.is/Nue1t
5/
The biologist was visiting collaborators at the WIV just as SARS2 was starting to spread from the city to the rest of the world. Even among those experts there was little fear then. “I was mixing with all the lab people,” Wang says. “We would go to a restaurant every night.”
The biologist was visiting collaborators at the WIV just as SARS2 was starting to spread from the city to the rest of the world. Even among those experts there was little fear then. “I was mixing with all the lab people,” Wang says. “We would go to a restaurant every night.”
6/
! By Jan. 2, Shi had decoded the entire genome of the virus, according to a notice later posted on her institute’s website.
archive.is/Nue1t
! By Jan. 2, Shi had decoded the entire genome of the virus, according to a notice later posted on her institute’s website.
archive.is/Nue1t
7/
! On Jan. 5, the Shanghai Public Clinical Health Center, led by famed virologist Zhang Yongzhen, was the latest to sequence the virus. He warned them that the new virus was similar to SARS and likely infectious.
"We recommend taking preventative measures in public areas.”
! On Jan. 5, the Shanghai Public Clinical Health Center, led by famed virologist Zhang Yongzhen, was the latest to sequence the virus. He warned them that the new virus was similar to SARS and likely infectious.
"We recommend taking preventative measures in public areas.”
8/
LET'S KEEP MOVING. So Linfa Wang was in Singapore in December, then "by pure chance" in Wuhan in January. Just hanging out? Just chilling? And what WAS the conference Shi Zhengli attended in Shanghai, and who else was there??? @BillyBostickson
tbc...
LET'S KEEP MOVING. So Linfa Wang was in Singapore in December, then "by pure chance" in Wuhan in January. Just hanging out? Just chilling? And what WAS the conference Shi Zhengli attended in Shanghai, and who else was there??? @BillyBostickson
tbc...
9/
"You are an intimately relevant person, which I am well aware of, present at a world-historical location during the defining event of the 21st century. By pure chance? Alles klar"
"You are an intimately relevant person, which I am well aware of, present at a world-historical location during the defining event of the 21st century. By pure chance? Alles klar"
10/
"Who, what, when, where, why, how? Huh???"
"Who, what, when, where, why, how? Huh???"
11/
Thank you very much @jinchuah !
PUBLISHED MAR 25, 2020
"After visiting Wuhan - the first epicentre of the current outbreak - as part of a team of scientists learning more about the virus in mid-January, Prof Wang put himself on home quarantine"
archive.is/hyAPL
Thank you very much @jinchuah !
PUBLISHED MAR 25, 2020
"After visiting Wuhan - the first epicentre of the current outbreak - as part of a team of scientists learning more about the virus in mid-January, Prof Wang put himself on home quarantine"
archive.is/hyAPL
12/
Linfa Wang interviewed by Australians after returning to Singapore
"You travelled to Wuhan from the 14th to the 18th"
LW: "The chance of getting this is 0.001%" "Early to mid December" "I refrain from commenting... on WHO decisions"
abc.net.au/radionational/…
Linfa Wang interviewed by Australians after returning to Singapore
"You travelled to Wuhan from the 14th to the 18th"
LW: "The chance of getting this is 0.001%" "Early to mid December" "I refrain from commenting... on WHO decisions"
abc.net.au/radionational/…
13/
"It's a conflict of interest?"
LW: "Yep" "Route of transmission is identical [to horses in Australia]" "We can almost be certain... wild-animal trading"
"It's a conflict of interest?"
LW: "Yep" "Route of transmission is identical [to horses in Australia]" "We can almost be certain... wild-animal trading"
14/
Thank you again @jinchuah !
Author: Chen Huanhuan Source: China Science Daily Published: 2020/2/2 9:51:16
Public opinion is crazy! Can't completely rely on CDC! Interview with Singapore Professor Wang Linfa
@BillyBostickson
archive.is/WeogO
Thank you again @jinchuah !
Author: Chen Huanhuan Source: China Science Daily Published: 2020/2/2 9:51:16
Public opinion is crazy! Can't completely rely on CDC! Interview with Singapore Professor Wang Linfa
@BillyBostickson
archive.is/WeogO
15/
"But January 21 was a watershed, and performance before that was problematic."
"It is normal for scientific research to have a little "competition", and so are other countries."
"But January 21 was a watershed, and performance before that was problematic."
"It is normal for scientific research to have a little "competition", and so are other countries."
16/
"Indeed, from 2003 to 2004, the SARS virus leaked in 3 laboratories, causing certain harm. However, in general, I think the ban on SARS virus research has been overreacted since then."
"Indeed, from 2003 to 2004, the SARS virus leaked in 3 laboratories, causing certain harm. However, in general, I think the ban on SARS virus research has been overreacted since then."
17/
"Shi Zhengli's team has now found a bat gene sequence with a consistency of up to 96%." @BillyBostickson
"Shi Zhengli's team has now found a bat gene sequence with a consistency of up to 96%." @BillyBostickson
19/
CIRCLING BACK.
"Wang has been tracking viruses from bats to humans for more than 2 decades. Marion Koopmans, a virologist at Erasmus Medical Center, credits him for essentially launching the field of bat immunology and developing the tools to pursue it"
CIRCLING BACK.
"Wang has been tracking viruses from bats to humans for more than 2 decades. Marion Koopmans, a virologist at Erasmus Medical Center, credits him for essentially launching the field of bat immunology and developing the tools to pursue it"
20/
"Electrical engineering became his passion. But after getting into the prestigious East China Normal University, Wang was dismayed when the faculty assigned him to study biology." @BillyBostickson
"Electrical engineering became his passion. But after getting into the prestigious East China Normal University, Wang was dismayed when the faculty assigned him to study biology." @BillyBostickson
21/
Going to a renowned university felt like going to heaven, he says, “but the wrong door of heaven, basically, because I went to a biology department.”
Going to a renowned university felt like going to heaven, he says, “but the wrong door of heaven, basically, because I went to a biology department.”
22/
"Secretly listening to Voice of America, Wang eventually became so proficient at English that he was chosen for a scholarship to study abroad. He did a Ph.D. in molecular biology at the University of California, Davis"
Kai, I... 🤣🤣🤣 @BillyBostickson @WhereIsYanLing
"Secretly listening to Voice of America, Wang eventually became so proficient at English that he was chosen for a scholarship to study abroad. He did a Ph.D. in molecular biology at the University of California, Davis"
Kai, I... 🤣🤣🤣 @BillyBostickson @WhereIsYanLing
23/
24/
Wang and Shi have since co-authored dozens of papers. They also like to team up in karaoke bars to sing classic Chinese ballads, says Daszak, a longtime collaborator with Wang and Shi. “Linfa is an excellent singer and to see him and Shi Zhengli do a duet is very special.”
Wang and Shi have since co-authored dozens of papers. They also like to team up in karaoke bars to sing classic Chinese ballads, says Daszak, a longtime collaborator with Wang and Shi. “Linfa is an excellent singer and to see him and Shi Zhengli do a duet is very special.”
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