NEWS WIRE PUBLICATIONS

A recent, not-yet-peer-reviewed, study claims to have identified possibly unusual sequence patterns in the SARS-CoV-2 genome which may indicate that the virus was genetically modified in a lab. The study has been poorly received by most experts in the field. The evidence reported in the study is neither conclusive nor final, and the findings may turn out to be a fluke, or generated by a flaw in the method, as the study's authors concede. This study and its reception remind us that it would be unwise to suppress a discussion of the lab leak theory by arguing that such a discussion has fueled conspiracy theories. A confirmation of an accidental lab leak - if such a leak has indeed occurred - would be less damaging than a confirmation of a lab leak whose evidence has been aggressively suppressed.

Also known as: News Wire Publications, LLC

Primary location: Mineola United States