schwit1 writes: The coronavirus was first reported to have originated at an animal market in Wuhan, China, however numerous observers have already questioned this account of the virus’s origins. Among other issues, the original host animal — a species of bat — was not sold at the particular animal market, and the city of Wuhan is home to virology labs where…
Tag: virology
No, Mouthwash Will Not Save You From the Coronavirus
You may have noticed a rash of provocative headlines this week suggesting that mouthwash can “inactivate” coronaviruses and help curb their spread. While the news is based on a new study from researchers at the Penn State College of Medicine, it’s important to note that the study focused on a coronavirus that causes common colds — not the one that causes…
Russian Elite Given Experimental COVID-19 Vaccine Since April
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: Scores of Russia’s business and political elite have been given early access to an experimental vaccine against Covid-19, according to people familiar with the effort, as the country races to be among the first to develop an inoculation. Top executives at companies including aluminum giant United Co. Rusal, as well as billionaire tycoons…
Full Text of US State Department Cables Finally Released, Showing Safety In Chinese Lab
Slashdot reader destinyland writes: On April 7th, a Trump campaign advisor told the Los Angeles Times “One way we still win this election is by turning it into a referendum on China.” Within weeks the Washington Post noted “reports that the Trump administration has sought to pressure U.S. intelligence agencies to search for proof of a link between the Wuhan lab…
Interview with the Science Writer Who Predicted the Pandemic 8 Years Ago
In 1945, after atomic bomb detonations at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, several former Manhattan Project scientists founded the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Publishing continuously since 1945, its current deputy editor, science writer DanDrollette, is also a Slashdot reader, and shared one of the nonprofit magazine’s thought-provoking new interviews:
In 2012, author David Quammen wrote a book, Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next…
China, Scientists Dismiss Harvard Study Suggesting COVID-19 Was Spreading in Wuhan in August
Beijing dismissed as “ridiculous” a Harvard Medical School study of hospital traffic and search engine data that suggested the new coronavirus may already have been spreading in China last August, and scientists said it offered no convincing evidence of when the outbreak began. From a report: The research, which has not been peer-reviewed by other scientists, used satellite imagery of hospital…
A Virus-Hunter Falls Prey To a Virus He Underestimated
Peter Piot, 71, one of the giants of Ebola and AIDS research, is still battling a coronavirus infection that hit him “like a bus” in March. From a report:”This is the revenge of the viruses,” said Dr. Peter Piot, the director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. “I’ve made their lives difficult. Now they’re trying to get me.”…
US Probes University of Texas Links To Chinese Lab Scrutinized Over Coronavirus
The Education Department has asked the University of Texas System to provide documentation of its dealings with the Chinese laboratory that U.S. officials are investigating as a potential source of the coronavirus pandemic. From a report: The request for records of gifts or contracts from the Wuhan Institute of Virology and its researcher Shi Zhengli, known for her work on bats,…
10 More Virus Researchers Say ‘Virtually No Chance’ Coronavirus Escaped From a Lab
Long-time Slashdot reader Charlotte Web writes: “Virus researchers say there is virtually no chance that the new coronavirus was released as result of a laboratory accident in China or anywhere else,” writes NPR, citing “10 leading scientists who collect samples of viruses from animals in the wild, study virus genomes and understand how lab accidents can happen.” NPR reports: “All of…
‘Claim That Covid-19 Came From Lab In China Completely Unfounded Scientists Say’
Newsweek reports: There is no evidence to back claims the coronavirus that has caused the COVID-19 pandemic emerged from a lab in China, scientists have told Newsweek. Adam Lauring, an associate professor at the University of Michigan Medical School and an expert in the evolution of viruses, told Newsweek: “This claim is a conspiracy theory and it is not supported at…