--- type: Conversation title: Private channel session 1276 description: "slack conversation, 30 messages, 2021-04-21." tags: - conversation - slack medium: slack message_count: 30 started_at: "2021-04-21T07:57:04" ended_at: "2021-04-21T08:43:25" duration_seconds: 2781 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 30 messages spanning 0h 46m. # Metadata - **Started:** 2021-04-21T07:57:04 - **Ended:** 2021-04-21T08:43:25 - **Duration:** 0h 46m - **Participants:** 3 - **Source:** [slack_pm](/sources/slack-pm.md) - **Pages:** 721-725 # 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 **[2021-04-21T07:57:04] Robert F. Garry:** DRASTIC thinks NellY was a mouse mutation engineered into circulating SC2 by the CCP army to take out the UK. That theory is based on https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6511/1603.full **[2021-04-21T08:01:03] Kristian G. Andersen:** I'm surprised it took them so long to speculate about lab origins of the variants. Way more likely (but still highly unlikely...) than the initial spillover. **[2021-04-21T08:10:33] Andrew Rambaut:** Yes. They waited for an imported case from London, engineered in all the mutations and then shipped it back to Kent to release it. **[2021-04-21T08:10:59] Andrew Rambaut:** Probably in a dog **[2021-04-21T08:13:12] Robert F. Garry:** Maybe even a special genetically-engineered Superdog? That Trump era intel really needs to be released ASAP. **[2021-04-21T08:17:35] Robert F. Garry:** OTOH - it's perhaps not _too_ crazy to think that SC2 could find it's way into and get established in other perhaps high density species. Low hanging fruit - shutting down mink farming seems prudent. **[2021-04-21T08:18:39] Kristian G. Andersen:** Yup **[2021-04-21T08:18:42] Andrew Rambaut:** The the thing if you have a new persistent reservoir you should be seeing on going spill over from it. **[2021-04-21T08:19:19] Andrew Rambaut:** All B.1.1.7 seems to be neatly derived from the early kent virus **[2021-04-21T08:19:29] Andrew Rambaut:** (apart from the recombinants) **[2021-04-21T08:20:46] Andrew Rambaut:** However, if DRASTIC is going down this route (that B.1.1.7 was actually constructed) they are just revealing themselves to be the nutters they are to the people who have been taking them seriously. **[2021-04-21T08:21:01] Andrew Rambaut:** Let them dig their hole. Give them a spade **[2021-04-21T08:38:48] Kristian G. Andersen:** For the animal epizootic - I agree that we should see violations of tree structure if new mutations kept cropping upand spilling over from an animal reservoir. Thing is though, looking at the mink example from Denmark, the virus was flowing freely between the two hosts, making it impossible to figure out what was mink derived and what was human. We saw convergent evolution between DK and NL mink, so that made us believe mutations fixed in the mink population - so I'm not convinced we can _rule out_ a potential animal reservoir for e.g., B.1.1.7? Clearly, almost all(>99.99%) new B.1.1.7 infections are caused by human-to-human, but can we rule out that there isn't also apersistent non-human… **[2021-04-21T08:42:22] Andrew Rambaut:** So much convergence and parallel mutations and spike mutational 'bursts' now I think we have to move beyond trying to find a special explanation for B.1.1.7 **[2021-04-21T08:43:25] Kristian G. Andersen:** True. SLACK_000937 **[2021-04-21T08:43:25] Robert F. Garry:** Angie fights back https:/www.nature.con/articles/s41591-021-01314-9 **[2021-04-21T08:43:25] Robert F. Garry:** Concerted attack on AR by DRASTIC - Yuri claims he's the victim. **[2021-04-21T08:43:25] Robert F. Garry:** And in related news - Alina still with the attacks on Eddie and the Pango papers - but - of course - call her out for herbullying and she plays the victim. Gullible journos eat it up or in the case of some (e.g. Jackson Ryan) get into the act as well. Truly Focanuba. [shared file(s): image.png, image.png] **[2021-04-21T08:43:25] Andrew Rambaut:** I got this last night: "Dear Dr. Rambaut, I hope this message finds you well. I am writing from the PLOS Publication Ethics team to ask if you might be able tohelp advise us on a pending post-publication case involving the above PLOS Pathogens article. Several concerns have been raised about the article, including about apparent overlap or redundancy with other publications and about the availability of the underlying data. The authors have worked with us to address these issues, and based on the outcome of these discussions we have prepared the attached notice draft. However, before we proceed further or decide whether this would be suitable for a Correction (vs. a different type of… **[2021-04-21T08:43:25] Andrew Rambaut:** Refers to this paper: RE: "Are pangolins the intermediate host of the 2019 novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2)?" (https://doi.org/10.137 1/journal.ppat. 1008421) **[2021-04-21T08:43:25] Robert F. Garry:** Timely - since Alina is directing more BS at @Eddie Holmes new pango paper - who would have thought pangos could carry more than one respiratory pathogen? Pretty sure this in more Alina bullying - guessing she sent a new round of letters to PLOS and Nature. @Kristian Andersen answered this on virological. *Vegard Eldholm & OlaB Brynildsrud* _ Norwegian Institute of Public Health_ also weighed in. The horse is dead, but Alina keeps beating it.PLOS should do more than just say the data is ok - it should call out the Alina crap. **[2021-04-21T08:43:25] Kristian G. Andersen:** Probably just need to reassemble the virus genomes from the provided data - happy to do it @Andrew Rambaut **[2021-04-21T08:43:25] Robert F. Garry:** Rossana (Yuri's "co=pilot") too - make no mistake RS is accusing us (PO authors) of malfeasance. [shared file(s): image.png, image.png] **[2021-04-21T08:43:25] Kristian G. Andersen:** Idiots. Plain and simple. **[2021-04-21T08:43:25] Robert F. Garry:** https://www.unibas.ch/en/News-Events/News/Uni-Research/Conspiracy-theories-and-cogn...]9-pandemic.html?pk_ campaign=UN_20210407_Verschwoerungstheorien **[2021-04-21T08:43:25] Robert F. Garry:** Turns out most people are idiots. [shared file(s): image.png] **[2021-04-21T08:43:25] Robert F. Garry:** Or they have been mislead by our "leaders." **[2021-04-21T08:43:25] Kristian G. Andersen:** Not surprised by this - and honestly, polling scientists on the first two questions, I'm not sure it would change much. **[2021-04-21T08:43:25] Robert F. Garry:** Sadly - you are likely correct. Should point them to your pinned tweet. Also - this was in Switzerland and Germany.US public much more skewed. Start off with all Trump voters 46% in category 1. **[2021-04-21T08:43:25] Robert F. Garry:** Fortunately all scientists have NOT been fooled. "Nature is clearly a cauldron for intense and dangerous coronavirus evolution." [shared file(s): [14761645 - The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene] The Origin ofCOVID-19 and Why It Matters.pdf]