Chat message

Slack / Private Message Drop, p.999 [SLACK_001213] · slack_pm:msg:10422

Date: 2021-09-21 08:10
Type: chat message · slack
recipient: Robert F. Garry, Edward C. Holmes, Andrew Rambaut
speaker: Kristian G. Andersen

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

Correct - that's the problem. There's a big difference between "the lab was working on bat CoVs" to "the lab wasmodifying bat CoVs using features we see being unique to SC2".

In context

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

2021-09-21 08:05 Kristian G. Andersen open

Yes - this can't (shouldn't) be dismissed out of hand.
2021-09-21 08:06 Andrew Rambaut open

If there is anything suspicious - better that we say it and then address it. If there isn't then we can let it blow over.
2021-09-21 08:06 Kristian G. Andersen open

Exactly. I suspect it'll be the latter.
2021-09-21 08:08 Andrew Rambaut open

Me too. But it really isn't beyond plausibility that someone went ahead and tried some of this stuff. We just need tore-convince ourselves it is coincidence.
2021-09-21 08:10 Kristian G. Andersen

Correct - that's the problem. There's a big difference between "the lab was working on bat CoVs" to "the lab wasmodifying bat CoVs using features we see being unique to SC2".
2021-09-21 08:10 Andrew Rambaut open

Key question is - would anyone chose to put the FCS we see in SC2 in and put it out of frame.
2021-09-21 08:11 Kristian G. Andersen open

Would be a very strange way to do it, but not impossible - depending on their cloning strategy.
2021-09-21 08:12 Andrew Rambaut open

If you wanted to insert an FCS you would pick the AAs you wanted, pick the codons you wanted and then insert it.
2021-09-21 08:12 Andrew Rambaut open

The alternative is that it was inserted in frame and then mutated to make it look out of frame

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