The Trump administration continues pushing the lab leak theory.

That’s just wild. The one silver lining to T2 is that I’m not shocked by anything anymore. It’s still outrageous, but the surprise is gone.

  • HiddenLife@lemmy.world
    125·
    4 hours ago

    Yeah, I used to believe that too. Until I read how irresponsible these scientists were. Before the outbreak, they were planning to release an enhanced version into bat caves filled with bats to observe how the coronavirus mutated. They were infecting bats in the lab with coronavirus. Nobody said they created this from scratch, but they could have definitely helped evolution along. Even the CIA suspects it could have been a lab leak. I think the problem is that thinking it is “man-made” is hard for many, but it’s not difficult to believe that the evolution of the virus was influenced by humans.

    https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/cia-shifts-assessment-covid-origins-saying-lab-leak-likely-caused-outb-rcna189284

    • rusticus@lemm.ee
      93·
      3 hours ago

      it’s not difficult to believe that the evolution of the virus was influenced by humans.

      Only for the ignorant. This is how research has worked for decades. Even the CIA (who are not scientists) have “low confidence”. Since when does “low confidence” mean it happened or you believe it??

      All sequence data, wild type virus, and previous research history clearly show this virus existed in nature and because it is a highly mutable RNA virus, was able to infect humans. No credible scientist says otherwise. Let’s be clear - if they were studying the virus in a lab and it “got out” from the lab or from the wild what difference does it make? This is NOT a man made virus and to make the leap to that is just plain ignorance.

      So the ignorant human response is to shut down all research on viruses because of the fear of it being “man made”. The result? When this happens again in 3 or 100 years (which it will), we will have no R&D to lean on LIKE WE DID FOR THE COVID19 VACCINE. We’ve ALREADY discovered a number of viruses in the wild that are likely to mutate and cause another pandemic. We should be celebrating research because the previous decade of work on antigen presentation of the spike protein gave us a vaccine in 11 months that we would otherwise likely not have EVEN TODAY.

      I guess this is why ancient civilizations had human sacrifice when there was an eclipse. The stupid scared ignorant people determined public policy.

      • lmmarsano@lemmynsfw.comEnglish
        3·
        3 hours ago

        Let’s be clear - if they were studying the virus in a lab and it “got out” from the lab or from the wild what difference does it make?

        Firmer policies & enforcement of safety protocols? Informed selection of safety protocols?

        • rusticus@lemm.ee
          3·
          2 hours ago

          These things already happen to an insane degree, which is good. Others are using this argument to either jump to the conclusion that it’s man made or that we should shut down all coronavirus research. There is a clear distinction between these thoughts that are being intentionally blurred by those with an agenda.

          • lmmarsano@lemmynsfw.comEnglish
            1·
            17 minutes ago

            We ought to be vigilant about leaping to conclusions or letting biases creep in, and I can’t control others doing that.

            Concerns about biosafety standards first caught my notice with this report stating that the laboratory may have been working with coronavirus at biosafety levels as low as 2 and explaining the significance. Questioning the source (even though it seems coherent), I noticed other reports with references seem to corroborate. These laboratories may not be taking the best precautions.