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Alina Chan Profile picture
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28 May, 9 tweets, 6 min read
Me, @nicholsonbaker8 @antonioregalado @R_H_Ebright on @WBUR @radioopensource starting now! :)

radioopensource.org/lab-leak/
My twitter became an open forum for the #OriginsOfCovid

Starting out strong on the topics of gain-of-function research, SARS2-related viruses under study at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and the lack of intermediate hosts for SARS2.

H/t @TheSeeker268 @franciscodeasis
Interesting comparison of CRISPR babies and virus research in China by @antonioregalado on @WBUR @radioopensource

And what scientists privately said about the #OriginsOfCovid
What are the chances that the virus breaking out in Wuhan belongs to the same type of virus studied by one of the top labs in the city? @nicholsonbaker8 and @antonioregalado discuss the odds of this happening and the furin cleavage site.
After my comparison of the furin cleavage site to a unicorn, Chris Lydon asks me to elaborate on the blame game and anti-Asian sentiment arising from the conversation around the lab leak hypothesis #OriginsOfCovid
Who is amplifying the lab leak question online? @antonioregalado on a bunch of nuts.
The first segment ends on a note of collecting the pieces of the puzzle scattered across the globe on the #OriginsOfCovid

Second segment @R_H_Ebright carefully explains how the genetic data cannot distinguish a natural vs a lab leak pathogen.
The gain-of-function problem and the early 2020 @TheLancet letter orchestrated by Peter Daszak collapsing on its own weight as discussed by @R_H_Ebright

radioopensource.org/lab-leak/
“The urgent task is preventing SARS3.” - @R_H_Ebright

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More from @Ayjchan

Alina Chan Profile picture
27 May
I would like to suggest one thing to journalists asking about the #OriginsOfCovid - whether natural or lab-based.

Everyone is asking what do we know, what evidence do we have.

Ask scientists what we don’t know, what evidence are we still waiting for.
New evidence, new information should change a scientist’s perspective.

By forcing scientists to give you a likelihood estimate now, in the absence of definitive evidence, you’re constraining their future ability to change their minds.

We’ve already seen some minds changed.
Scientists should be able to change their minds completely in the span of a year.

The lab leak hypothesis has transitioned from a conspiracy theory to a near certainty in the minds of some scientists over the past year.
Read 4 tweets
Alina Chan Profile picture
27 May
I know a lot of people are in shock hearing that the lab leak hypothesis was plausible all along.

For those truly trying to understand what has happened over 2020, what the circumstantial evidence is for lab vs natural origin, please read these articles:
I'm seeing a lot of "Where is the evidence?" questions.

That's exactly right.

Where is the evidence for a natural origin or a lab origin?

We need a credible investigation of #OriginsOfCovid
I'm also seeing a lot of "But asking if Covid-19 came from a lab leak would've fueled racism" from some scientists and journalists.

Ok, got it. I respect your POV. Please respect my POV that we need to investigate to safeguard against a future pandemic that kills millions.
Read 5 tweets
Alina Chan Profile picture
27 May
I like this take in @TheAtlantic by @danengber

It could take years to find out if the #OriginsOfCovid involved research activities.

To preempt the next pandemic, we need to operate as if it did come from a lab. What to do now?

theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
The idea that a lab accident might cause a pandemic “is a very difficult, uncomfortable scenario for many scientists to accept,” @DavidRelman said. Without more specific evidence in favor of the lab-leak hypothesis, “people will wring their hands.."
I share @DavidRelman's view that it is important to engage in the scientific process to investigate the lab leak hypothesis.

Even if the chances of finding the #OriginsOfCovid are low, we need to set a precedent of tracking novel pandemic pathogens.
Read 4 tweets
Alina Chan Profile picture
26 May
My opinion is that it is anti-scientific to obstruct or censor other scientists from investigating a possible lab leak #OriginsOfCovid - a scientific question - just because you're afraid that it will make some racists or Trump supporters happy.
It is problematic that the whole world population (predominantly asian btw) is put at risk of a future lab-based pandemic - no investigation of #OriginsOfCovid, no informed mitigation strategies - because Western scientists are afraid to fan the flames of racism.
Read 5 tweets
Alina Chan Profile picture
26 May
Another piece by @Akselfrids who has been doing some of the most in-depth sleuthing in the technical details of WIV papers.

The Wuhan Institute of Virology had been working with novel SARS-related coronaviruses at a lower than recommended safety level.

minervanett.no/drastic-sars-c…
The @WHO declined to comment on this project specifically when asked by @Minervanett @Akselfrids but said there was a need for regulatory oversight to reduce the risks of research involving "high-consequence pathogens in an era of rapid technology development."
Also, @Minervanett reached out to @PLOSPathogens to see if they have more info about the biosafety level at which these SARS-related virus research had been conducted.

@Akselfrids take a number. I'm still waiting for PLoS Pathogens to handle the pangolin paper 1 year later.
Read 6 tweets
Alina Chan Profile picture
26 May
Let’s please never use the phrase “gain-of-function” again.

washingtonpost.com/context/tabak-…
Can we just ask the NIH - do you have any information about the work funded at the WIV or not?

It’s that straightforward.
If there’s no information other than the grant proposals already posted online and Peter Daszak’s tweets then we know millions of dollars have gone down the drain.
Read 5 tweets

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