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Slack / Private Message Drop, pp.336-337 [SLACK_000550] · slack_pm:msg:03543

Date: 2020-12-21 16:14
Type: chat message · slack
recipient: Robert F. Garry, Edward C. Holmes, Andrew Rambaut
speaker: Kristian G. Andersen
Topics: Natural origin / zoonotic spillover

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One question I'd ask - "Since you faked RaTG13, why haven't you faked a closely related ancestral strain from a random intermediate host?"

In context

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

2020-12-21 15:57 Robert F. Garry open

From Sun: "In our previous study, we generated a mouse-adapted strain of SARS-CoV-2 (MASCp6) by 6 serial passages of a SARS-CoV-2 in the lung of *aged* BALB/c mice, which caused moderate lung damage and no fatality in mice. Herein, we further serially passaged for additional 30 times to generate a more virulent SARS-CoV-2, and the resulting virus at passage 36 ( named as MASCp36) was used for stock preparation and titration." And a little deeper dive into the supplement reveals that N501Y came up early - by 6 passages [and it wasn't pathogenic] the other 2 muts took more passages [and tjhose mutations - probably Q493K actually made the virus pathogenic for mice. . Aged mice are definitely immunosuppressed. So, evidence for the immunocompromised theory.
2020-12-21 16:07 Edward C. Holmes open

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-55364445
2020-12-21 16:13 Andrew Rambaut open

We should offer to go do it.
2020-12-21 16:13 Kristian G. Andersen open

YES - we can collect our fat checks at the same time!
2020-12-21 16:14 Kristian G. Andersen

One question I'd ask - "Since you faked RaTG13, why haven't you faked a closely related ancestral strain from a random intermediate host?"
2020-12-21 16:17 Andrew Rambaut open

Has anyone tried translating it out of frame? Perhaps it says "MADEINCHINA"?
2020-12-21 16:20 Edward C. Holmes open

"FUNGFLUPATENTPENDING"
2020-12-21 16:20 Andrew Rambaut open

```Sars-Cov-2, the authors concluded, was likely to have gained its unique efficiency through a long, undetected period of circulation in humans or animals of a natural and milder precursor virus that eventually evolved into thepotent, deadly form first detected in Wuhan in 2019.```Eh?
2020-12-21 16:21 Andrew Rambaut open

5.1 million reads though

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