Mary Wilson
New member
The case for a zoonotic origin of SARS-CoV-2
Mar 21
Philipp Markolin, PhD
Chapter 1: Scientific uncertainty
Background
Ever since the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, scientists have been working to reconstruct how, where, and when this virus jumped into humans and subsequently caused a pandemic. Almost immediately, speculations were raised if SARS-CoV-2 was indeed a ‘natural’ virusor whether it was engineered or cultured in a lab given the location of the outbreak and the unprecedented harm it caused worldwide ...
... Today, many competing origin narratives built on top of scientific uncertainty have swept over the globe, fueling speculations, emotional discourse, and even geopolitical tensions.
So let me say a few things about the sideshows surrounding lab leak and hopefully bring the science back into focus: ...
Chapter 2: The Science
Section A) What are the likelihoods of zoonotic spillover from an animal reservoir vs. a lab leak infecting humans?
Animal reservoirs
Bats serve as the biggest animal reservoir for CoVs, and exactly how big and diverse this reservoir might be has been subject to continued study. Of the ~5000 mammalian species on earth, over 1000 are bats. However, while bats might carry CoVs, they are by far not the only species that can get infected by them, and they are also not the most likely to come in contact and directly transfer it to humans.
The last two CoVs predating SC2 which caused an epidemic in humans were infections through intermediate animals (civet catsand camels for SARS1 and MERS, respectively). CoVs in bats do not only infect the respiratory system but are often more prevalent in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract or kidneys, allowing for bat Guano and urine to serve as primary routes of infection in cave feeding animals like Civets, or infect human workers collecting Guano fertilizer. Overall, bats CoVs have been considered the original reservoir of many human disease-causing pathogens and will continue to pose a risk to our health ...
Section B) What are the likelihoods that a viral genome just like SARS-CoV-2 could arise in nature vs. engineering in a lab?
https://protagonistfuture.substack.com/p/natures-neglected-gof-laboratory?s=w
Mar 21
Philipp Markolin, PhD
Chapter 1: Scientific uncertainty
Background
Ever since the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, scientists have been working to reconstruct how, where, and when this virus jumped into humans and subsequently caused a pandemic. Almost immediately, speculations were raised if SARS-CoV-2 was indeed a ‘natural’ virusor whether it was engineered or cultured in a lab given the location of the outbreak and the unprecedented harm it caused worldwide ...
... Today, many competing origin narratives built on top of scientific uncertainty have swept over the globe, fueling speculations, emotional discourse, and even geopolitical tensions.
So let me say a few things about the sideshows surrounding lab leak and hopefully bring the science back into focus: ...
Chapter 2: The Science
Section A) What are the likelihoods of zoonotic spillover from an animal reservoir vs. a lab leak infecting humans?
Animal reservoirs
Bats serve as the biggest animal reservoir for CoVs, and exactly how big and diverse this reservoir might be has been subject to continued study. Of the ~5000 mammalian species on earth, over 1000 are bats. However, while bats might carry CoVs, they are by far not the only species that can get infected by them, and they are also not the most likely to come in contact and directly transfer it to humans.
The last two CoVs predating SC2 which caused an epidemic in humans were infections through intermediate animals (civet catsand camels for SARS1 and MERS, respectively). CoVs in bats do not only infect the respiratory system but are often more prevalent in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract or kidneys, allowing for bat Guano and urine to serve as primary routes of infection in cave feeding animals like Civets, or infect human workers collecting Guano fertilizer. Overall, bats CoVs have been considered the original reservoir of many human disease-causing pathogens and will continue to pose a risk to our health ...
Section B) What are the likelihoods that a viral genome just like SARS-CoV-2 could arise in nature vs. engineering in a lab?
- Was the viral genome backbone ‘created’?
https://protagonistfuture.substack.com/p/natures-neglected-gof-laboratory?s=w
