---
type: Conversation
title: Private channel session 1214
description: "slack conversation, 13 messages, 2021-04-07."
tags:
  - conversation
  - slack
medium: slack
message_count: 13
started_at: "2021-04-07T17:32:05"
ended_at: "2021-04-07T19:05:11"
duration_seconds: 5586
sources:
  - { id: slack_pm, resource: /sources/slack-pm.md, title: Slack / Private Message Drop, author: "process:senate-hsgac-release" }
generated: { by: randpaul-corpus-pipeline/1.0, at: "2026-08-01T12:42:27Z" }
status: stable
---

A slack conversation of 13 messages spanning 1h 33m.

# Metadata

- **Started:** 2021-04-07T17:32:05
- **Ended:** 2021-04-07T19:05:11
- **Duration:** 1h 33m
- **Participants:** 3
- **Source:** [slack_pm](/sources/slack-pm.md)
- **Pages:** 686-687

# Participants

* [Andrew Rambaut](/people/andrew-rambaut.md)
* [Edward C. Holmes](/people/edward-c-holmes.md)
* [Kristian G. Andersen](/people/kristian-g-andersen.md)
* [Robert F. Garry](/people/robert-f-garry.md)

# Transcript

**[2021-04-07T17:32:05] Kristian G. Andersen:** They know it's the farming....

**[2021-04-07T17:34:57] Edward C. Holmes:** It's definitely sounding that way...

**[2021-04-07T18:16:01] Robert F. Garry:** From Gorman's "FAR AND BALANCED" "reporting." "Whereas many virologists and disease specialists want to collect and study viruses as a way to learn more and be more prepared for outbreaks, Mr. Metzl said he and others wanted more restrictions on virus studies."It absolutely makes sense to establish a global regulatory system overseeing aggressive work with dangerous ordeadly pathogens everywhere," he said.

**[2021-04-07T18:17:09] Robert F. Garry:** How did Jamie Metzl become the world 's authority on work on deadly pathogens?

**[2021-04-07T18:17:59] Robert F. Garry:** "more restrictions on virus studies" Yeah that's the ticket!

**[2021-04-07T18:21:24] Edward C. Holmes:** More from the journo:

**[2021-04-07T18:21:28] Edward C. Holmes:** "Did you ever run into a person called Yang Guoxiang, Senior Engineer, Hubei Wildlife Epidemic Source and Disease Surveillance Center - he was on the China side of the China-WHO study team. Stopped by his rescue center yesterday but he wasn't around. The "ayi" at the gate was kind enough to give me his mobile number though. This place is also a wildlife rescue center. It is also right next to the zoo. Some of these wildlife rescue centers inother parts of the country have been very problematic. There's been an ongoing case of an NGO in Beijing suingone of these places [they're affiliated with the Forestry and Grassland Administration, which handles wildlife protection AND use] in Guangxi.…

**[2021-04-07T18:21:48] Edward C. Holmes:** Wild.

**[2021-04-07T18:24:17] Kristian G. Andersen:** Hah - that's crazy.

**[2021-04-07T18:24:51] Kristian G. Andersen:** > How did Jamie Metzl become the world 's authority on work on deadly pathogens? I'm glad he confirmed to Jim that this is all about shutting GOF down though - good to know.

**[2021-04-07T18:46:03] Robert F. Garry:** It's more than just GOF research though. It's all work on deadly pathogens. I think that the fight over shutting down work on viruses is a fight worth having.

**[2021-04-07T18:48:45] Kristian G. Andersen:** It's basically virology as a whole... That'll do some good, surely.

**[2021-04-07T19:05:11] Edward C. Holmes:** Other than reducing the burden of disease and increasing the lifespan of the human species what has virology done for us?