Chat message

Slack / Private Message Drop, p.1057 [SLACK_001271] · slack_pm:msg:11049

Date: 2022-01-13 14:03
Type: chat message · slack
recipient: Robert F. Garry, Edward C. Holmes, Andrew Rambaut
speaker: Kristian G. Andersen
Topics: Furin cleavage site and molecular features Natural origin / zoonotic spillover

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

Yup, that's the reason - our first (non-peer reviewed) version is more toned down (it's actually pretty good). It's a little strange we mention this part though:_"In theory, it is possible that SARS-CoV-2 acquired the observed RBD mutations site during adaptation to passagein cell culture, as has been observed in studies with SARS-CoV5 as well as MERS-CoV"_We mention the Pangolin CoVs in the paper too, so clearly we must just have failed to connect the two - no, the RBD couldn't have been the result of passage. That realization came with the peer review, so probably the main reason why we made our arguments stronger. Reading through the whole version history of this paper, we really did a good job - it truly is a prime example of how science (should) work. Proud of the Proximal Boyz :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
It's a little strange we mention this part though:_"In theory, it is possible that SARS-CoV-2 acquired the observed RBD mutations site during adaptation to passagein cell culture, as has been observed in studies with SARS-CoV5 as well as MERS-CoV"_We mention the Pangolin CoVs in the paper too, so clearly we must just have failed to connect the two - no, the RBD couldn't have been the result of passage.	quoted / not their view	quoted_external sentence carries quotation marks	instructs

Statement

Grade

Attribution

Stance

It's a little strange we mention this part though:_"In theory, it is possible that SARS-CoV-2 acquired the observed RBD mutations site during adaptation to passagein cell culture, as has been observed in studies with SARS-CoV5 as well as MERS-CoV"_We mention the Pangolin CoVs in the paper too, so clearly we must just have failed to connect the two - no, the RBD couldn't have been the result of passage.

quoted / not their view

quoted_external sentence carries quotation marks

instructs

In context

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

2022-01-13 13:47 Andrew Rambaut open

Looking at the edits on virological - I think we may have posted it privately on the 16th, made a few more tweaks and then made it public on the 17th.
2022-01-13 13:47 Andrew Rambaut open

Which would fit with the internet archive.
2022-01-13 13:50 Kristian G. Andersen open

Yeah, I think you might be right that it went online Feb 17 UK time - I can see I started emailing it around at 7am onthe 17th (MY birthday! Coincidence? I think not....!). The first one I emailed it to was.... drum roll...... Marc Lipsitch.
2022-01-13 13:52 Kristian G. Andersen open

Which is kinda weird actually... Why the heck would I say it was "highly plausible" on Feb 16, when clearly that wasn't my thinking... Probably because our first version still quite seriously considered lab culture. [shared file(s): Screen Shot 2022-01-13 at 1.51.29 PM.png]
2022-01-13 14:03 Kristian G. Andersen

Yup, that's the reason - our first (non-peer reviewed) version is more toned down (it's actually pretty good). It's a little strange we mention this part though:_"In theory, it is possible that SARS-CoV-2 acquired the observed RBD mutations site during adaptation to passagein cell culture, as has been observed in studies with SARS-CoV5 as well as MERS-CoV"_We mention the Pangolin CoVs in the paper too, so clearly we must just have failed to connect the two - no, the RBD couldn't have been the result of passage. That realization came with the peer review, so probably the main reason why we made our arguments stronger. Reading through the whole version history of this paper, we really did a good job - it truly is a prime example of how science (should) work. Proud of the Proximal Boyz :wink:
2022-01-13 14:37 Kristian G. Andersen open

Reading through our emails on 2/17/2020 is hilarious - so many last-minute things and I think I might just have come back from the desert... Eddie spelled my last name wrong!!
2022-01-13 14:46 Edward C. Holmes open

Perhaps that was deliberate?
2022-01-13 14:50 Kristian G. Andersen open

Good point... We should have kept it - "not me, some other Kristian dude :man-shrugging:"

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