Discussion: Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Wuhan has been working with bats and coronavirus for many years - DNA manipulations, cloning....

[Emily]

SARS-CoV-2′s claimed natural origin is undermined by issues with genome sequences of its relative strains

Deigin, Y., & Segreto, R. (2021). SARS-CoV-2′s claimed natural origin is undermined by issues with genome sequences of its relative strains. BioEssays, 43:e2100015. https://doi.org/10.1002/bies.202100015

Abstract

RaTG13, MP789, and RmYN02 are the strains closest to SARS-CoV-2, and their existence came to light only after the start of the pandemic. Their genomes have been used to support a natural origin of SARS-CoV-2 but after a close examination all of them exhibit several issues. We specifically address the presence in RmYN02 and closely related RacCSxxx strains of a claimed natural PAA/PVA amino acid insertion at the S1/S2 junction of their spike protein at the same position where the PRRA insertion in SARS-CoV-2 has created a polybasic furin cleavage site. We show that RmYN02/RacCSxxx instead of the claimed insertion carry a 6-nucleotide deletion in the region and that the 12-nucleotide insertion in SARS-CoV-2 remains unique among Sarbecoviruses. Also, our analysis of RaTG13 and RmYN02's metagenomic datasets found unexpected reads which could indicate possible contamination. Because of their importance to inferring SARS-CoV-2′s origin, we call for a careful reevaluation of RaTG13, MP789 and RmYN02 sequencing records and assembly methods.

[Shiloh]

Source: https://news.yahoo.com/china-blasts-...172435281.html

China blasts WHO chief over ‘offensive’ comments on COVID-19 origin search
Olafimihan Oshin
Sun, April 9, 2023 at 1:24 PM EDT·2 min read

Chinese health officials have called out the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus for his “offensive” comments in the ongoing search for the origins of COVID-19.

Speaking at a news conference, the director of China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shen Hongbing said that Ghebreyesus’ recent remarks were “offensive and disrespectful,” accusing the health agency of “attempting to smear China” and said it should avoid helping others “politicize COVID-19.”

In remarks made last month, Ghebreyesus said that the newly disclosed genetic material gathered in Wuhan, China should’ve been publicly shared three years ago.

The genetic material mentioned by Ghebreyesus was uploaded recently to a global database, being collected three years ago at a Wuhan-based wildlife market where wildlife was sold.

“As a responsible country and as scientists, we have always actively shared research results with scientists from around the world,” Shen said at a news conference...

[Mary Wilson]

Adding Genbase sequences to usher #337

aviczhl2 opened this issue Apr 10, 2023

Starting from March 2023, China began to upload most of its sequences not to GISAID but to a self-developed platform called GenBase. Sequences are free to download on NGDC by selecting dataset ”GenBase".

https://github.com/yatisht/usher/issues/337

[Pathfinder]

Chinese scientist claims COVID-19 may have originated from humans
...

Emre Aytekin |
10.04.2023 - Update : 11.04.2023

BEIJING
...
China's State Council's Information Office held a press conference in Beijing on Saturday to discuss latest findings in the origins-tracing of the virus.

Scientists claimed that the DNA data shared in Nature, an international scientific journal, showed that strains found in samples from the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan, where the first cases emerged, are more likely to have come from humans.

Researchers analyzed more than 1,300 DNA samples collected from animals and the environment in the market.

There was no coronavirus in any of the 457 animal samples examined, which invalidates the possibility of transmission from animals.

“These findings indicate that in the cases on the market, the virus was transmitted from other people, not from animals sold,” said Tong Yigang of the Beijing University of Chemical Technology.

There was not yet sufficient evidence to back up recent studies that had suggested raccoon dogs were the origin of the coronavirus, he added.
...

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/health/chinese-scientist-claims-covid-19-may-have-originated-from-humans/2868679

[Pathfinder]

True origins of Covid may never be revealed, says Chinese doctor there 'at the very beginning'
...

By
Paul Nuki,
GLOBAL HEALTH SECURITY EDITOR, LONDON
14 April 2023 • 8:09pm
...
Dr George Fu Gao, who is thought to know more about the origins of the disease than any other scientist, has told the Telegraph he is “not optimistic” the origin of the virus will ever be known, citing both political and scientific obstacles.

“It’s too sensitive; too politicised,” he said.
...
On the science, Dr Gao added that the theory that there was an intermediate animal species between bats and humans that provided a “reservoir” of the virus might be wrong.

“I too thought there must be an intermediate host - a reservoir - but now I’m not so sure. It’s possible there is no animal reservoir,” he said.
...
Dr Gao, who appeared good humoured and gregarious, has a political tightrope to walk at home and is almost certain to know more about Covid’s origins than he lets on.

No doubt aware that China had officially apologised for its slowness in dealing with the 2002/3 SARS epidemic, he was careful to claim the country had acted promptly on SARS-Cov-2.

China’s CDC had been the first to detect, isolate and share the genetic sequence of the virus, he told the London conference.
...

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/true-origins-covid-never-be-revealed-china-george-fu-gao/

[Emily]

I hope he wasn't dismissed because he was in the way of using the lab leak theory as war propaganda against China.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/05/03/who-scientist-covid-lab-leak-theory-sexual-harassment/

WHO scientist who doubted Covid lab leak theory sacked for sexual harassment

Peter Ben Embarek, who contests the accusation of misconduct, led WHO's mission to China to investigate Covid's origins
By Nick Allen Washington 3 May 2023 • 11:04pm
A senior World Health Organisation scientist, who concluded it was "extremely unlikely" Covid-19 leaked from a Chinese laboratory, has been dismissed for sexual misconduct.

The UN agency said Peter Ben Embarek, a Danish scientist, was removed from his post last year.

Dr Embarek said he contested the accusation of harassment and was challenging his dismissal.

He previously led WHO's "One Health" initiative on diseases jumping from animals to humans.

Dr Embarek was the most senior WHO representative on a mission to China in 2021 to investigate where Covid-19 came from.

It determined that a leak from the laboratory in Wuhan was "highly unlikely" despite calls from other scientists to investigate that possibility...

[sharon sanders]

Association between SARS-CoV-2 and metagenomic content of samples from the Huanan Seafood Market

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Jesse D. Bloom
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.04.25.538336

This article is a preprint and has not been certified by peer review
80001901146

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ABSTRACT


The role of the Huanan Seafood Market in the early SARS-CoV-2 outbreak remains unclear. Recently the Chinese CDC released data from deep sequencing of environmental samples collected from the market after it was closed on January-1-2020 (Liu et al. 2023a). Prior to this release, Crits-Christoph et al. (2023) analyzed data from a subset of the samples. Both studies concurred that the samples contained genetic material from a variety of species, including some like raccoon dogs that are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2. However, neither study systematically analyzed the relationship between the amount of genetic material from SARS-CoV-2 and different animal species. Here I implement a fully reproducible computational pipeline that jointly analyzes the number of reads mapping to SARS-CoV-2 and the mitochondrial genomes of chordate species across the full set of samples. I validate the presence of genetic material from numerous species, and calculate mammalian mitochondrial compositions similar to those reported by Crits-Christoph et al. (2023). However, the number of SARS-CoV-2 reads is not consistently correlated with reads mapping to non-human susceptible species. For instance, 14 samples have >20% of their chordate mitochondrial material from raccoon dogs, but only one of these samples contains any SARS-CoV-2 reads, and that sample only has 1 of ∼200,000,000 reads mapping to SARS-CoV-2. Instead, SARS-CoV-2 reads are most correlated with reads mapping to various fish, such as catfish and largemouth bass. These results suggest that while metagenomic analysis of the environmental samples is useful for identifying animals or animal products sold at the market, co-mingling of animal and viral genetic material is unlikely to reliably indicate whether any animals were infected by SARS-CoV-2.

source: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...04.25.538336v2

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-65708746

Covid: Top Chinese scientist says don’t rule out lab leak
Published 1 day ago

By John Sudworth & Simon Maybin
BBC News

The possibility the Covid virus leaked from a laboratory should not be ruled out, a former top Chinese government scientist has told BBC News.

As head of China's Centre for Disease Control (CDC), Prof George Gao played a key role in the pandemic response and efforts to trace its origins.

China's government dismisses any suggestion the disease may have originated in a Wuhan laboratory.

But Prof Gao is less forthright....