Coronavirus Thread: Worldwide Pandemic

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Scientists who have studied the genetics of the virus are convinced it’s of natural origin rather than designed in a lab. An accidental release from the research center in Wuhan is possible in theory, but “just so implausible,” according to Stanley Perlman, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Iowa, who has visited the facility and rates it highly.

One reason is the reputation of Shi Zhengli, a 56-year-old deputy director of the Wuhan Institute of Virology. In 2004, Shi found a natural reservoir of coronaviruses in bat caves near Kunming, a city in China’s southern Yunnan province. In February she published a paper in the journal Nature saying that the genomic sequence of the new pathogen was 96% identical to that of a coronavirus identified in Yunnan.

Shi told Scientific American that a review of genetic characteristics of viruses she’s worked with in the lab didn’t match those of the coronavirus spreading in humans. In a social media post the virologist said she would “swear on my life” the pathogen causing havoc had nothing to do with her lab. U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo has backed off earlier claims of “enormous evidence” that the virus escaped from a Wuhan laboratory.

That still leaves scientists asking where and how the virus did jump into humans. So-called wet markets that sell live animals, like one in Wuhan to which many of the first cases of the illness were traced, have previously been implicated in the spread of disease. In this case, however, experts aren’t sure whether the outbreak actually started at the market, or was just discovered there.

Peter Daszak, a disease ecologist at nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance, said it’s likely that Covid-19 began before the December starting point currently assumed, perhaps even outside of Wuhan. He estimates that 1 million to 7 million people every year in Southern China and Southeast Asia may get infected with bat viruses. Most don’t spread readily between people and many fizzle out before reaching major population centers, he said.

“This particular outbreak probably was in people circulating in South or Central China back in November” or even earlier, he said.

Another scenario envisions someone closely tied to the wildlife trade bringing infected animals to the Wuhan market. Once the virus reached the flourishing megacity of 11 million, it grew exponentially.

Another crucial question is whether the virus moved to humans directly from bats or through a secondary source. If it’s the latter, the farmed or wild animal may still be spreading the infection. Pangolins—scale-covered mammals that look a bit like anteaters—have been suggested as one possibility, though the evidence is preliminary. If Covid-19 came directly from bats, it’s crucial to nail down where this happened, so that the authorities can institute preventive measures, such as keeping people out of the caves in which the flying mammals dwell.
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NY's #1 Draft Pick

NY's #1 Draft Pick

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88m3 said:
Trump tweeted it himself too

fb is really bad as well the past week, way more than normal, and the right wing ad space is full tilt
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FB is fully catering to MAGA now. That little fekkit mark zukerburg does little to stop disinformation. Stupid people will fall for it again.
 
Serious

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NY's #1 Draft Pick said:
FB is fully catering to MAGA now. That little fekkit mark zukerburg does little to stop disinformation. Stupid people will fall for it again.
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Man after after the Trayvon Martin verdict I've had a low tolerance for social media. I can tolerate bs here though.
 
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