Thanks for this detailed explainer, Dr. Markolin, it's very helpful. I was confused why rather twitter-active scientists like Drs. Andersen and Worobey felt so strongly that these two 2022 studies presented such definitive evidence supporting zoonotic origins. The NYT article on their pre-prints helped a bit, but I was still confused. Your breakdown here gives a better explanation of the link I was missing. Specifically, it shows why Pekar et. al's analysis of the two lineages suggests to them the strong possibility of multiple spillovers in the market, which would foreclose the possibility of a lab leak. This helped to clarify things for me. Thanks!
Does anyone have a sense of why the WIV has not opened its research to scrutiny? Or why the PRC has failed to share the data from November 2019 pneumonia patients in Hubei hospitals and later SC2 genetic samples collected by Chinese researchers? At the very least, why has EcoHealth Alliance failed to disclose its pertinent records? It seems to me* that this would have put to rest any good faith suspicions, especially around the supposed "nefariousness" of the rejected DARPA proposal and the FOIA'd interior communications leading up to the March 2020 Proximate Origins letter.
*as the most casual of lay-people who knows nothing about virology or science
The unduly neglected #OneHealth approach is explained to a general audience in a 25-minute video produced by the Party for the Animals (a parliamentary party in the Netherlands).
The narrator is Marianne Thieme, a human rights lawyer and co-founder of the Party for the Animals. Produced in 2014. Called for a summit on veterinary public health, among other measures. Still relevant today.
“At biological research facilities across the United States and around the world, hundreds of safety breaches happen every year at labs experimenting with dangerous pathogens. ... yet the public rarely learns about these incidents...”
The very fact that you are closed minded and refer to the possibility of a lab leak as "conspiracy" proves that you are not a scientist.
"Scientists take biosafety and public concerns seriously"
Stop lying.
https://www.propublica.org/article/near-misses-at-unc-chapel-hills-high-security-lab-illustrate-risk-of-accidents-with-coronaviruses
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11323677/Outrage-Boston-University-CREATES-Covid-strain-80-kill-rate.html
Thanks for this detailed explainer, Dr. Markolin, it's very helpful. I was confused why rather twitter-active scientists like Drs. Andersen and Worobey felt so strongly that these two 2022 studies presented such definitive evidence supporting zoonotic origins. The NYT article on their pre-prints helped a bit, but I was still confused. Your breakdown here gives a better explanation of the link I was missing. Specifically, it shows why Pekar et. al's analysis of the two lineages suggests to them the strong possibility of multiple spillovers in the market, which would foreclose the possibility of a lab leak. This helped to clarify things for me. Thanks!
Does anyone have a sense of why the WIV has not opened its research to scrutiny? Or why the PRC has failed to share the data from November 2019 pneumonia patients in Hubei hospitals and later SC2 genetic samples collected by Chinese researchers? At the very least, why has EcoHealth Alliance failed to disclose its pertinent records? It seems to me* that this would have put to rest any good faith suspicions, especially around the supposed "nefariousness" of the rejected DARPA proposal and the FOIA'd interior communications leading up to the March 2020 Proximate Origins letter.
*as the most casual of lay-people who knows nothing about virology or science
The unduly neglected #OneHealth approach is explained to a general audience in a 25-minute video produced by the Party for the Animals (a parliamentary party in the Netherlands).
Entitled “Zoonoses.” Link: https://www.onesingleplanet.nl/zoonoses/ .
The narrator is Marianne Thieme, a human rights lawyer and co-founder of the Party for the Animals. Produced in 2014. Called for a summit on veterinary public health, among other measures. Still relevant today.
“At biological research facilities across the United States and around the world, hundreds of safety breaches happen every year at labs experimenting with dangerous pathogens. ... yet the public rarely learns about these incidents...”
https://amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/may/30/lab-leaks-shrouded-secrecy