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Experts debunk fringe theory linking China’s coronavirus to weapons research
Washington Post ^ | 01/29/2020 | Adam Taylor

Posted on 01/29/2020 9:59:29 AM PST by SeekAndFind

As China attempts to contain the spread of a new coronavirus that has left more than 100 people dead, rumors and disinformation have spread amid the scramble for answers.

Some of the speculation has centered on a virology institute in Wuhan, the city where the outbreak began. One fringe theory holds that the disaster could be the accidental result of biological weapons research.

But in conversations with The Washington Post, experts rejected the idea that the virus could be man-made.

“Based on the virus genome and properties there is no indication whatsoever that it was an engineered virus,” said Richard Ebright, a professor of chemical biology at Rutgers University.

Tim Trevan, a biological safety expert based in Maryland, said most countries had largely abandoned their bioweapons research after years of work proved fruitless.

“The vast majority of new, nasty diseases ... come from nature,” he said.

The British newspaper Daily Mail was among the first to suggest the possibility of a link between the newly spreading virus and the Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory, reporting last week that the lab, which opened in 2014 and is part of the Wuhan Institute of Virology, had been the subject of safety concerns in the past.

A separate article published by the Washington Times, a conservative newspaper in Washington, took the theories a step further, suggesting in a headline that the “Coronavirus may have originated in lab linked to China’s biowarfare program” and pointing to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

The article cited research by Dany Shoham, a former Israeli military intelligence officer, who told The Post he did not want to comment further.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bioweapons; china; conspiracy; coronavirus; deepstatevirus; dontbelieveit; fakenews; kag; maga; militarygrade; nicetry; trump; virus
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To: fieldmarshaldj

Joe’s corruption is also “debunked”. Never was investigated, except by Giuliani, and they’re busily trying to re-cast him as either a partisan hack, a nutcase, or both. His legendary reputation as a prosecutor and mayor are being swept under the rug with Joe’s obvious corruption. A whole lot of “debunking” goin’ on.


41 posted on 01/29/2020 10:21:26 AM PST by Eleutheria5 ("SHUT UP!" he explained.)
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To: eclectic

“Now, I believe this theory.”

Lol. I know what you mean.

There’s always Krazy Konspiracy Kooks spewing crap. Washington Post included.

It’s sad that the Post was devolved so much that when they have a headline like this (obviously true) the first inclination is to think if the Post is saying something then the truth must be opposite.

The Post is trying, as always, to smear anyone who’s not in the leftist true believer camp with articles like this. There’s no other reason to make this a headline article.


42 posted on 01/29/2020 10:22:34 AM PST by ifinnegan (Democrats kill babies and harvest their organs to sell)
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To: eclectic

It’s beginning to look a lot like a Stephen King novel. Life keeps imitating art.


43 posted on 01/29/2020 10:22:42 AM PST by Eleutheria5 ("SHUT UP!" he explained.)
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To: truthluva

If you ‘DEBONE’ a chicken, you remover the bones.

So, if you ‘DEBUNK’ something, you remove the bunk?................


44 posted on 01/29/2020 10:22:54 AM PST by Red Badger (Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain.......... ..)
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To: SeekAndFind
Sources:

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.01.26.920249v1

Full-genome evolutionary analysis of the novel corona virus (2019-nCoV) rejects the hypothesis of emergence as a result of a recent recombination event

Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding Twitter Account

https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1221997385146040321?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

45 posted on 01/29/2020 10:23:22 AM PST by Natty Bumppo@frontier.net (We are the dangerous ones, who stand between all we love and a more dangerous world.)
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To: SeekAndFind
Good to see the Compost is taking its masters orders in Beijing.
Bezo helping his Chinese pals .
Amazon might get hurt .
46 posted on 01/29/2020 10:24:03 AM PST by ncalburt (Gop DC Globalist)
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To: Scott from the Left Coast

Mad Magazine would have it among the list of things that mean something else. For example: When they say: “that’s been debunked,” it really means: “I pray to G-d it’s not true, but I don’t really know.”


47 posted on 01/29/2020 10:24:20 AM PST by Eleutheria5 ("SHUT UP!" he explained.)
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To: Natty Bumppo@frontier.net

Does he mean recombination event in nature or event in a lab.


48 posted on 01/29/2020 10:25:20 AM PST by RummyChick
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To: Black Agnes

That is happening all over, not just at Harvard. 1000 Talents are buying all sorts of academics. See University of Florida for an even bigger ring.


49 posted on 01/29/2020 10:26:09 AM PST by ifinnegan (Democrats kill babies and harvest their organs to sell)
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To: SeekAndFind

Neither of the experts quoted debunked anything. They simply said, and quite rightly, that there isn’t enough evidence to draw such a conclusion. All this article shows is that the WaPo doesn’t know how science works.


50 posted on 01/29/2020 10:28:06 AM PST by Billthedrill
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To: Natty Bumppo@frontier.net

“However, Richard Ebright has no clue as to why almost half of the 2019-nCoV virus genome does not match nor is it related to the genome of any other corona virus.”

You have seriously wrong info.


51 posted on 01/29/2020 10:28:14 AM PST by ifinnegan (Democrats kill babies and harvest their organs to sell)
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To: ifinnegan

This is hardly new.

This was happening 30 years ago.

How do you think China went from 10th century to 21st century in less than 50 years...

We sold/gave it to them.

Where’s a good wall when you need one.


52 posted on 01/29/2020 10:29:29 AM PST by Black Agnes
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To: ifinnegan
this is the bottom line as of a few days ago..which could have changed by now

Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding @DrEricDing · Jan 27 9. BOTTOMLINE: 1) Seafood market not the source. 2) This RNA #coronavirus mutates really fast. 3) 🧬 has unusual middle segment never seen before in any coronavirus. 4) Not from recent mixing. 5) That mystery middle segment encodes protein responsible for entry into host cells.

------------------ and btw, isn't number 5 what the chapel hill virus was designed to do.
53 posted on 01/29/2020 10:30:57 AM PST by RummyChick
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To: SeekAndFind

It can’t possibly be Debunked until Snopes says so.


54 posted on 01/29/2020 10:31:00 AM PST by C210N
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To: Natty Bumppo@frontier.net

Thanks for the link. The conclusion says this:

Conclusions:

The levels of genetic similarity between the 2019-nCoV and RaTG13 suggest that the latter does not provide the exact variant that caused the outbreak in humans, but the hypothesis that 2019-nCoV has originated from bats is very likely. We show evidence that the novel coronavirus (2019-nCov) is not-mosaic consisting in almost half of its genome of a distinct lineage within the betacoronavirus.

These genomic features and their potential association with virus characteristics and virulence in humans need further attention.

______________________________

So, let me, as a lay person make this observation:

1) There are known two variants: 2019-nCoV and RaTG13

2) 2019-nCov is the one that caused the current worldwide outbreak and it originated from bats.

Which leads to this question : what about the other variant: RaTG13?

* Do we KNOW of any human infection cases coming from this strain?

* Where did RatG13 originate from? Lab grown?


55 posted on 01/29/2020 10:32:01 AM PST by SeekAndFind (look at Michigan, it will)
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To: ifinnegan

I ran the blast search myself.

WRT the spike protein, he’s correct.


56 posted on 01/29/2020 10:32:01 AM PST by Black Agnes
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To: SeekAndFind

It’s the only theory that makes sense.


57 posted on 01/29/2020 10:32:54 AM PST by yldstrk (Bingo! We have a winner!)
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To: SeekAndFind

“Debunked” is the new “The Science is Settled”


58 posted on 01/29/2020 10:33:31 AM PST by Erik Latranyi (The Democratic Party is communism)
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To: fieldmarshaldj

New definition for debunked. Any Theory, assertion, accusation or statement that disputes Globalist claims or supporting leftist parties which automatically must be labelled Debunked. Ordinary Citizens are no longer authorized to think about them or investigate or themselves.

Thought Police Statute 555 renewed 2019-Jan-01 World Court.

Oh, and “Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia.”


59 posted on 01/29/2020 10:34:05 AM PST by epluribus_2 (He, had the best mom - ever. my)
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To: fieldmarshaldj

It really means something that was initially thought to be “bunk” has now been “debunked” - i.e., confirmed. :)


60 posted on 01/29/2020 10:35:19 AM PST by Mr. Jeeves ([CTRL]-[GALT]-[DELETE])
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