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The claim Covid-19 leaked from a Chinese laboratory dates from early in the pandemic. Here's what we know.
Various sources have hypothesised that SARS-CoV-2 could have leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology or another laboratory in Wuhan, such as the Wuhan Center for Disease Control. The theories vary on whether this was an intentional act or an accident.
Mar 17, 2023 · The Energy Department concluded with “low confidence” that an accidental laboratory leak most likely caused the coronavirus pandemic. But new genetic findings hint that the virus may have...
- The Hypotheses in Play
- Animal Origins
- Illnesses Spark Suspicion
- Genetic Manipulation?
- The Investigation Continues
A number of theories about how the virus may have emerged have been thrown out. Most that remain fall under three possible scenarios: 1. The virus evolved naturally before spilling over into humans from an infected animal. 2. The virus evolved naturally, but an employee at the lab became infected from a sample and accidentally "leaked" it into the ...
The first cluster of Covid-19 infections was traced to the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, leading to early speculation that it may have been where the virus jumped from animals into humans. But Chinese researchers have since found that several of the earliest known cases of Covid-19 in the city were unrelated to the market, meaning the virus may a...
Calls for a more in-depth investigation into both the natural origin theory and the lab leak hypothesis have been fueled, at least in part, by growing circumstantial evidence uncovered over the last year by a band of anonymous internet sleuths. Last year, a member of the amateur investigative team, which calls itself DRASTIC (short for Decentralize...
The mine incident also drew attention to a separate SARS-like virus that Chinese researchers collected from a bat in Yunnan province in 2013. Shi Zhengli, a prominent bat researcher who directs the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, co-wrote a paper published in February 2020 detailing the virus, known as Ra...
Chan, of the Broad Institute, wasn't ready to rule out the possibility of genetic engineering, saying that if minor tweaks were being made to virus samples, it could be difficult to detect the fingerprints of such work. "You can do recombination without leaving a trace," she said. "Basically, it's like you can 3D-print clothing with no seams, so it...
Mar 1, 2023 · What is the lab-leak theory? It's a suspicion that the coronavirus may have escaped, accidentally or otherwise, from a laboratory in the central Chinese city of Wuhan where the virus was...
Jun 8, 2021 · However, a lab leak has not been ruled out, and many are calling for a deeper investigation into the hypothesis that the virus emerged from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), located in...
May 27, 2021 · May 27, 2021. In today’s edition of the Morning newsletter, David Leonhardt offers a guide to the newly revived debate over the idea that the coronavirus accidentally leaked from a Chinese...
