by Jonathan Latham, PhD and Allison Wilson, PhD
Back in March, the World Health Organisation’s report on the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic coronavirus confirmed something that had long been widely presumed. Since the pandemic began, there has been an enormous virus hunt in China.
The purpose of this hunt has been to find the viruses intermediate between SARS-CoV-2 and its coronavirus relatives found in bats (Luk et al., 2019).More
This podcast was done with Chris Cook of Gorilla Radio (CFUV, Canada) on June 6th 2021
Do we have an answer to the trillion dollar question?
The podcast is 1hr of which I am the first half.
by Jonathan Latham, PhD and Allison Wilson, PhD
One of the very earliest scientific papers from the COVID-19 pandemic era now has over 11,000 citations. Appearing in the scientific journal Nature on February 3rd 2020, Zhou et al., 2020 reported the genome sequence of a novel coronavirus isolated from patients with atypical pneumonia in Wuhan, China. Its senior author was leading coronavirus researcher Zheng-li Shi of the Wuhan Institute of Virology (the WIV). Along with what we now call SARS-CoV-2, her paper also reported the genome sequence of a closely related (96.2% identical) bat virus. The authors called this virus RaTG13. To this day RaTG13 is still the closest known viral genome by far to SARS-CoV-2.
RaTG13 came from the freezers of the WIV.More
by Jonathan Latham, PhD
Sustainable, local, organic food grown on small farms has a tremendous amount to offer. Unlike chemical-intensive industrial-scale agriculture, it regenerates rural communities; it doesn’t pollute rivers and groundwater or create dead zones; it can save coral reefs; it doesn’t encroach on rainforests; it preserves soil and it can restore the climate (IAASTD, 2009). Why do all governments not promote it?More
Here are three new talks titled, collectively: Natural Origin or Lab Escape? The Emergence of SARS-CoV-2.
The three talks are published on the Youtube channel of Independent Science News.
The three talks describe aspects of our current thinking on the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the political/economic forces attempting to influence public perception of its origins. The talks are designed to be of interest both to people new to the virus origins discussion as well as to those who are very familiar with the arguments and the evidence.
More details and links are below.More
by Jonathan Latham, PhD and Allison Wilson, PhD
In China there is a popular joke about the southern city of Guangzhou (Canton). A visiting space alien, curious to learn about Chinese customs, tours its various provinces. Arriving in Guangzhou the alien asks the locals what their interests are. The Cantonese oblige their guest by putting the alien in a soup pot and eating it. This joke hinges on the Cantonese fondness for cooking with unusual species, many obtained from far away.
This feature of Canton’s cuisine was implicated in the original SARS (Severe Acquired Respiratory Syndrome) pandemic of 2002-04, which began in Guangzhou. It is thought that the virus arrived there with palm civets imported for speciality dishes (Wang et al., 2005).More
Three upcoming talks.
Series title:
Natural Origin or Lab Escape? The Emergence of SARS-CoV-2
Talk I: Why Wuhan? on 8th Jan 2021
Talk II: The Mojiang Miners Passage Theory 15th Jan 2021
Talk III: The Pandemic Virus Industrial Complex 22nd Jan 2021
Each talk is live at 5pm EST.
Visit the EAT Community to learn more.
Registration is required but viewing is free.
by Jonathan Latham, PhD
University researchers genetically engineer a human pandemic virus. They inject the new virus into a laboratory mouse. The infected mouse then bites a researcher…..It is a plot worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster about risky coronavirus research.More
by Jonathan Latham, PhD and Allison Wilson, PhD
In all the discussions of the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, enormous scientific attention has been paid to the molecular character of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, including its novel genome sequence in comparison with its near relatives. In stark contrast, virtually no attention has been paid to the physical provenance of those nearest genetic relatives, its presumptive ancestors, which are two viral sequences named BtCoV/4991 and RaTG13.More
By Jonathan Latham, PhD and Allison Wilson, PhD
If the public has learned a lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic it is that science does not generate certainty. Do homemade face masks work? What is the death rate of COVID-19? How accurate are the tests? How many people have no symptoms? And so on. Practically the lone undisputed assertion made so far is that all the nearest known genetic relatives of its cause, the Sars-CoV-2 virus, are found in horseshoe bats (Zhou et al., 2020). Therefore, the likely viral reservoir was a bat.More