Chat message

Slack / Private Message Drop, p.208 [SLACK_000422] · slack_pm:msg:02162

Date: 2020-10-02 15:07
Type: chat message · slack
recipient: Robert F. Garry, Edward C. Holmes, Andrew Rambaut
speaker: Kristian G. Andersen
Topics: Wuhan Institute of Virology collaboration

Recipients on this medium are inferred from channel membership, not per-message addressing.

No way the virus would have gained it in Veros, but there's a non-zero chance that it could have gained it upon passage on human primary cells - e.g., human lung cells. The concern here is that we know that type of work was going on at WIV (the EgoHealth stuff), so we certainly can't dismiss it based on this. Hence Bob needs to do the experiment :wink:

Extracted statements

Rule-extracted, not adjudicated. The grade says what may be done with each one; read the document above before relying on any of them.

Statement	Grade	Attribution	Stance
The concern here is that we know that type of work was going on at WIV (the EgoHealth stuff), so we certainly can't dismiss it based on this.	own voice, substantive	speaker_own	denies

Statement

Grade

Attribution

Stance

The concern here is that we know that type of work was going on at WIV (the EgoHealth stuff), so we certainly can't dismiss it based on this.

own voice, substantive

speaker_own

denies

In context

A single line often inverts meaning once you see what it answers, so neighbouring messages are always shown.

2020-10-02 15:05 Edward C. Holmes open

That cleavage site paper is really interesting...a key point is that the polybasic insertion is selected against in Vero cells: that journalist from the NYT (Nicholas Wade) was trying to argue with me that passage in Vero cells was a way that the polybasic insertion could occur...clearly the conspiracy theorists have been discussing this. So, this blows itout the water.
2020-10-02 15:06 Kristian G. Andersen open

Not completely...
2020-10-02 15:07 Edward C. Holmes open

@Andrew Rambaut I think you could to invite Shi. Coming from you the invite might be accepted: it will deemed tobe a friendly audience.
2020-10-02 15:07 Edward C. Holmes open

Ha, I knew you'd say that!
2020-10-02 15:07 Kristian G. Andersen

No way the virus would have gained it in Veros, but there's a non-zero chance that it could have gained it upon passage on human primary cells - e.g., human lung cells. The concern here is that we know that type of work was going on at WIV (the EgoHealth stuff), so we certainly can't dismiss it based on this. Hence Bob needs to do the experiment :wink:
2020-10-02 15:08 Edward C. Holmes open

Agreed. I only meant the Vero cell thing. Somebody must have proposed this.
2020-10-02 15:08 Kristian G. Andersen open

In other words - had they repeated e.g., the experiment previously done with bovine coronavirus, no questions SARS-CoV-2 with the FCS would have been selected very rapidly.
2020-10-02 15:12 Edward C. Holmes open

By the way, I only gave Wade some generic off-the-record comments. He was suggesting that the observation that all the human viruses are monophyletic was evidence for a lab escape....he's definitely been drinking the Kool-aid.
2020-10-02 15:13 Kristian G. Andersen open

Doesn't surprise me about Wade - really disappointing. But reading his questions I was like "well, I'd have to start with explaining evolution to him first - I ain't got time for that shit".

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