Slack / Private Message Drop — page 359

[2021-01-04 17:29:35] [Robert Garry] "We're getting into contact with SARS-like coronaviruses all the time, and as we're encroaching on animal habitat, the risks of spillovers will continue to increase, SARS-CoV-1, SARS-CoV-2, and MERS-CoV being early warning signs of what to expect in future". Seems right to me, but unfortunately we have the Daziaks and Wolfes of the world on one side saying just give us billions for GVP and we'll solve ALL this and the Ebirights, Relmans and other saying just STOP all this dangerous work. I am not hearing so much the sane third way and that's a problem since we live in a political world. [2021-01-04 19:18:12] [Kristian Andersen] @Robert Garry - if I may - stole this from your email... "Turns out that the 12 base pair insert that was selected after 6 Vero cell passages happens at the exact spot as one of the "lineage" defining mutations in the South African variant D215G." Hmmmmm indeed. That is pretty interesting indeed. I mean, the risk of somebody infecting themselves with SC2 in culture is pretty darn huge. Would any of the other South Africa mutations be consistent with this? While the SA lineage has excess mutations, they don't really look "chronic intrahost" to me. Could this actually be a lab leak? Certainly wouldn't be the first time. [2021-01-04 20:18:59] [Eddie Holmes] Can you imagine.... [2021-01-04 20:20:43] [Kristian Andersen] I'd love to be the one breaking _that_ news. But honestly - that is a very real possibility and I'm sure it must already have happened that somebody infected themselves with SARS-CoV-2 - just too much COVID going around (and it's about to get a lot worse). [2021-01-04 21:04:29] [Eddie Holmes] Fuckity fuck indeed. Actually, would be great if you did it because it would show we are not biased against lab escape. [2021-01-04 23:54:10] [Andrew Rambaut] If I got infected at work would that count as a lab escape? [2021-01-05 01:03:42] [Andrew Rambaut] James thinks he is on to something that explains everything: ```Evolutionists in the know: Australia, S Korea, China all use the Beijing test - no spike protein per their protocol? https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2020/06/post-market-validation-of-the-beijing-genomics-insti tute-bgi-sars-cov-2-real-time-pcr-platform.pdf If so, that might explain the discrepancies... concluding that "we never could have gotten our arms around this because variants" will not fly. "Not knowing enough to exclude primer sites that are evolutionarily labile" - yes, I'd buy that. IF Oz, S. Korea & China all used conserved primer target sites and other nations did not, it's a disgrace. CDC boasts on their website that they controlled SARS w/accurate testing and contact tracing.