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Wuhan Institute Of Virology

All articles tagged with #wuhan institute of virology

health1 year ago

House Report Criticizes COVID-19 Response, Suggests Lab Leak Origin

A US congressional committee, led by Republicans, has concluded that COVID-19 likely originated from a lab-related accident, specifically pointing to research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The report criticizes the US National Institutes of Health for funding gain-of-function research in China and questions the effectiveness of lockdowns and mask mandates. The committee's findings contrast with other scientific assessments suggesting a zoonotic origin for the virus. The report also praises Operation Warp Speed for its role in vaccine development but highlights the negative impact of school closures.

via Al Jazeera English|
#anthony-fauci#covid-19#health
health-science1 year ago

"Human Transmission: The Surprising Source of Animal Pandemic Threats"

A study from University College London suggests that humans pass on more viruses to animals than they catch from them, highlighting the potential for human-to-animal virus transmission to spark health crises. The research analyzed tens of thousands of viral genomes and found that almost two-thirds of the samples were transmitted to animals via humans. This human-to-animal virus transmission could pose a conservation threat to species and impact food security. The study emphasizes the need to monitor and understand viral evolution to better prepare for future outbreaks and epidemics. The origins of the Covid-19 virus remain a subject of debate, with theories ranging from natural origins at a Wuhan market to a potential lab leak.

via Daily Mail|
#health-science#pandemic-threat#university-college-london
science2 years ago

"US Scientists Propose Creating SARS-CoV-2-Like Viruses in Wuhan"

Newly obtained documents reveal that American scientists planned to collaborate with the Wuhan Institute of Virology to engineer novel coronaviruses with features similar to SARS-CoV-2, including furin cleavage sites and receptor binding domains adept at infecting human receptors, a year before the virus emerged. The documents detail experiments that could have generated the virus' rare properties and challenge arguments against the relevance of the research proposal to the origins of the pandemic. The grant proposal, rejected by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, suggests that data central to the pandemic may be found not only in China but also in the U.S.

via U.S. Right to Know|
#genetic-engineering#pandemic-origins#sars-cov-2
science-and-technology2 years ago

Misleading American Scientists and the Wuhan Institute of Virology

American scientists involved in a 2018 research proposal called DEFUSE, which aimed to engineer high-risk coronaviruses, concealed their intention to conduct the research in Wuhan under lax safety standards from the Pentagon. The proposal involved synthesizing spike proteins with furin cleavage sites, the same feature found in SARS-CoV-2. Documents obtained by U.S. Right to Know reveal that the experiments were proposed to occur in Wuhan with fewer safety precautions than required in the U.S. to save on costs. The documents raise questions about the credibility of the scientists' assurances that the pandemic could not have originated from their collaboration with the Wuhan lab. The gain-of-function research was not funded by DARPA, but it remains unclear if it was subsequently completed without funding.

via U.S. Right to Know|
#biosafety#darpa#gain-of-function-research
health2 years ago

Unmasking China's Covid cover-up: The urgent need for an inquiry

Michael Gove, a UK cabinet minister, suggested that the Covid-19 virus may have been man-made, but was dismissed by the lead counsel to the Covid inquiry. The article argues that the origin of the virus is crucial to the inquiry and questions why it is being ignored. It highlights the possibility that the virus was engineered in the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which would explain its extreme infectiousness. The article also criticizes the Chinese government for its lack of transparency and trustworthiness, citing their initial denial of human-to-human transmission. The author calls for a discussion on the origins of the virus, as the risk of another pandemic remains high.

via The Telegraph|
#china#covid-19#health
science-and-technology2 years ago

Pre-Pandemic Safety Concerns Uncovered at Wuhan Lab, US Researchers Reveal

US researchers had raised serious safety concerns about the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) in 2017, three years before the Covid-19 pandemic, but their warnings were ignored or censored. Newly obtained records reveal that an NIH official had expressed alarm over the WIV's plan to engineer Ebola strains and the lab's shortage of trained technicians. The official was instructed to erase these safety failures from her report to avoid angering China. Similar concerns over genetically engineered viruses were dismissed by US energy officials a year prior. The WIV, where the FBI believes Covid leaked from, continued to receive international support, including funding from the US, despite its inadequate safety measures.

via Daily Mail|
#covid-19#genetically-engineered-viruses#lab-safety-concerns
science-and-research2 years ago

"Senators Investigate Fauci-Run Montana Lab for Covid-like Virus Research"

Republican Senators Joni Ernst and Eric Schmitt are demanding answers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) regarding a laboratory in Montana, Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML), where US taxpayer money was used to manipulate coronaviruses before the pandemic. The lab, which has a history of protocol breaches, collaborated with the Wuhan Institute of Virology in 2018 to infect bats with a 'SARS-like' virus. The senators' letter to the NIH raises concerns about risky research, biosafety incidents, lab animal sourcing, and collaborations with EcoHealth Alliance. They also question the NIH's continued collaboration with EcoHealth Alliance, which they claim violated grant policies and may have caused the Covid-19 pandemic. The senators demand transparency and accountability regarding RML's past, present, and future experiments with dangerous pathogens.

via Daily Mail|
#anthony-fauci#coronavirus#ecohealth-alliance
sciencehealth2 years ago

US Lab Tied to Wuhan Institute Conducted Dangerous Coronavirus Experiments

A lab in Montana overseen by Dr. Anthony Fauci reportedly conducted experiments with coronaviruses obtained from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, which some believe to be the origin of the Covid pandemic. The experiments, revealed in a 2018 research paper, involved infecting Egyptian fruit bats with a SARS-like virus. Critics argue that such gain-of-function virus research, aimed at making pathogens more infectious, poses risks of a viral leak that outweigh any potential benefits.

via WION|
#anthony-fauci#coronavirus-research#gain-of-function
health2 years ago

"Chinese Scientists Uncover Novel Viruses, Prepare for Experimental Exploration"

Chinese scientists have discovered eight never-before-seen viruses, including one belonging to the same family as Covid, on a tropical island off China's southern coast. The viruses were found in rodents and have a high probability of infecting humans if they cross the species barrier. The scientists are calling for further experiments to determine the effects of these viruses on humans. The discovery highlights the potential threat of zoonotic diseases and the need for pandemic preparedness. The Wuhan Institute of Virology, which has been linked to the Covid pandemic, is involved in the research.

via Daily Mail|
#health#novel-viruses#pandemic-preparedness
world-news2 years ago

Biden Administration Halts Funding to Wuhan Lab Amid COVID Investigation

The Biden administration has halted funding to the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, the lab at the center of the investigation into the origins of COVID-19, after it failed to provide necessary documents on safety and security measures. The lab has faced scrutiny over its research with viruses and the possibility that the virus escaped from the facility. The Biden administration's review concluded that the lab did not comply with federal regulations and should not receive federal funding. The report from the Director of National Intelligence did not provide any fresh conclusions on the lab's involvement, showing that intelligence agencies are divided on the origin of the pandemic.

via Daily Mail|
#biden-administration#covid-19-origins#funding-suspension
health2 years ago

Unveiling the Controversial Claim: COVID-19 Engineered as a Bioweapon by Wuhan Researcher

A researcher from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chao Shao, claims that the coronavirus was engineered as a bioweapon and that his colleagues were given four variants of the virus to determine which one would spread most effectively. He also raises suspicions about the disappearance of colleagues during the 2019 Military World Games and unusual assignments in Xinjiang. A recently released US intelligence report failed to definitively confirm whether researchers at the Wuhan lab were infected with the virus. Further investigation is needed to establish the full truth about the origins and intentions behind the virus's creation.

via WION|
#bioweapon#covid-19#health
politics2 years ago

US Intelligence Report Dismisses Lab Leak Theory Claims on COVID-19 Origins

US intelligence officials released a report rejecting some points raised by those who argue COVID-19 leaked from a Chinese lab, instead reiterating that American spy agencies remain divided over how the pandemic began. The report was issued at the behest of Congress, which in March passed a bill giving US intelligence 90 days to declassify intelligence related to the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Intelligence officials under President Joe Biden have been pushed by lawmakers to release more material about the origins of COVID-19.

via The Associated Press|
#covid-19#intelligence-report#lab-leak-theory
science2 years ago

US Government Restarts Controversial Wuhan Lab Research Grant.

The US government has renewed a grant for EcoHealth Alliance, a research organization with ties to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, to continue its work on "bat-origin coronaviruses." The grant, which was terminated shortly after the pandemic broke out in 2020, will provide $568,370 per year for the next four years. EcoHealth has committed not to subcontract work to China, collect new virus samples from the wild, or engage in any "gain of function" research. The decision is expected to spark debate in the US Congress and beyond.

via The Telegraph|
#covid-19#ecohealth-alliance#grant
politics2 years ago

Biden Declassifies Intelligence on COVID Origins.

President Biden signed a bill into law that directs the federal government to declassify certain information about the origin of the coronavirus, including potential links between China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology and the virus. The declassified information must be released within 90 days of the bill being signed into law, although the language in the bill does not establish a mechanism for enforcement. The theory that the coronavirus may have escaped from the Wuhan institute has been a subject of debate since early in the pandemic.

via The Washington Post|
#biden#coronavirus#declassification