Slack / Private Message Drop — page 796

I think we should. Ian has gone over to the the Lab Leakers (aka FOMOs) . Angie good. From Gorman and Zimmer: " While this group of scientists does not single out any researchers by name, the letter finds fault with those who have also been vocal in supporting the theory of a natural origin, citing a lack of evidence. Kristian Andersen, a virologist at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., has been a strong proponent of the overwhelming likelihood of a natural origin. He was one of the authors of an often cited paper in March 2020 that dismissed the likelihood of a laboratory origin based largely on the genome of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19. "We do not believe any type of laboratory-based scenario is plausible," that paper stated. Speaking for himself only, Dr. Relman said in an interview that "the piece that Kristian Anderson and four others wrote last March in my view simply fails to provide evidence to support their conclusions." Dr. Andersen, who reviewed the letter in Science, said that both explanations were theoretically possible. But, "the letter suggests a false equivalence between the lab escape and natural origin scenarios," he said. "To this day, no credible evidence has been presented to support the lab leak hypothesis, which remains grounded in speculation_."_ Instead, he said, available data "are consistent with a natural emergence of a novel virus from a zoonotic reservoir, as has been observed so many times in the past." He said he supported further inquiry into the origin of the virus. Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at University of Saskatchewan's Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization, has criticized the politicization of the laboratory leak theory. She supports further investigation, but said that "there is more evidence (both genomic and historical precedent) that this was the result of zoonotic emergence rather than a laboratory accident." [2021-05-13 13:03:36] [Robert Garry] https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/05/13/1024866/investigation-covid-origin-wuhan-china-lab-biologists-letter/ [2021-05-13 13:03:56] [Robert Garry] Shi's quotes are important to read. [2021-05-13 13:08:11] [Kristian Andersen] Ian? [2021-05-13 13:09:04] [Robert Garry] He's on the Lab Leak bandwagon [2021-05-13 13:09:33] [Robert Garry] Letter could be @Andrew Rambaut "lab escape idea is not a scientific hypothesis - it is an allegation. It can't be investigated by scientific methods because were it true it would also imply a cover-up which by definition is to avoid discovery." It could also call for support of the WHO process, recognition that intermediate hosts or reservoirs for many viruses have not been determined, respect for the scientific process and a call for more virus-hunting not less. [2021-05-13 13:09:33] [Kristian Andersen] Lipkin? [2021-05-13 13:09:43] [Robert Garry] Yes [2021-05-13 13:10:13] [Kristian Andersen] Is he quoted somewhere? [2021-05-13 13:11:13] [Robert Garry]