Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Dr. Fauci Backed Controversial Wuhan Lab for Risky Coronavirus Research

newsweek.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 37 posts

Re: Dr. Fauci Backed Controversial Wuhan Lab for Risky Coronavirus Research

#11

Post by yung0 »

hef19898 wrote: post #8

This kind of research seems to be a rather normal and reasonable thing to do. That being said, I have two issues with this article: - it makes the Wuhan lab story sound credible, while it is just another conspiracy theory - it paints Dr. Fauci in a bad light by linking him to that lab and the theory The factually true info is the kind of research and the fact that it was cofunded by the Fauci org. Everything else is…

"(At this point most scientists say it's possible—but not likely—that the pandemic virus was engineered or manipulated.)"

It seems as if they're confusing the 'possibility' of the manipulation theory with the 'possibility' of the lab escape theory (which is technically possible, but very, very unlikely).

Re: Dr. Fauci Backed Controversial Wuhan Lab for Risky Coronavirus Research

#12

Post by swebs »

yung0 wrote: post #2

"controversial" Controversial for what? The lab should be backed, and has been backed, and was funded by many governments around the world. Funding should be tripled so we can find these viruses before they become pandemics (the reason for their research).

>Many scientists have criticized gain of function research, which involves manipulating viruses in the lab to explore their potential for infecting humans, because it creates a risk of starting a pandemic from accidental release.

Re: Dr. Fauci Backed Controversial Wuhan Lab for Risky Coronavirus Research

#13

Post by yung0 »

swebs wrote: post #12
yung0 wrote: post #2

"controversial" Controversial for what? The lab should be backed, and has been backed, and was funded by many governments around the world. Funding should be tripled so we can find these viruses before they become pandemics (the reason for their research).

>Many scientists have criticized gain of function research, which involves manipulating viruses in the lab to explore their potential for infecting humans, because it creates a risk of starting a pandemic from accidental release.

They cite one man, Ebright, as opposing GoF. 'Scientists' plural seems a tad exaggerated.

Re: Dr. Fauci Backed Controversial Wuhan Lab for Risky Coronavirus Research

#14

Post by yung0 »

zakk wrote: post #5
yung0 wrote: post #2

"controversial" Controversial for what? The lab should be backed, and has been backed, and was funded by many governments around the world. Funding should be tripled so we can find these viruses before they become pandemics (the reason for their research).

Did you read the full article? They give a detailed explanation of why the project is controversial. You might agree, you might disagree, you might want to sit on either side of the controversy, but the article substantiates quite well the usage of the adjective "controversial" in the title.

Yes, and I don't see how they're linking the lab to GoF. The GoF component of the research has been cancelled, and I would presume (due to its association with Peter Daszak) that it was cancelled due to lack of funding from American budget cuts or from safety concerns about the virus. I could be wrong on the reasons for cancellation, though.

Re: Dr. Fauci Backed Controversial Wuhan Lab for Risky Coronavirus Research

#15

Post by swebs »

yung0 wrote: post #13
swebs wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Many scientists have criticized gain of function research, which involves manipulating viruses in the lab to explore their potential for infecting humans, because it creates a risk of starting a pandemic from accidental release.

They cite one man, Ebright, as opposing GoF. 'Scientists' plural seems a tad exaggerated.

>More than 200 scientists called for the work to be halted. The problem, they said, is that it increased the likelihood that a pandemic would occur through a laboratory accident.

Re: Dr. Fauci Backed Controversial Wuhan Lab for Risky Coronavirus Research

#16

Post by _iyig »

yung0 wrote: post #2

"controversial" Controversial for what? The lab should be backed, and has been backed, and was funded by many governments around the world. Funding should be tripled so we can find these viruses before they become pandemics (the reason for their research).

The controversy is explicitly described in the article:

>The work in question was a type of gain-of-function research that involved taking wild viruses and passing them through live animals until they mutate into a form that could pose a pandemic threat. Scientists used it to take a virus that was poorly transmitted among humans and make it into one that was highly transmissible—a hallmark of a pandemic virus. This work was done by infecting a series of ferrets, allowing the virus to mutate until a ferret that hadn't been deliberately infected contracted the disease.

>The work entailed risks that worried even seasoned researchers. More than 200 scientists called for the work to be halted. The problem, they said, is that it increased the likelihood that a pandemic would occur through a laboratory accident.

When you set these concerns next to 2018 diplomatic cables describing safety problems at the biolab in question [0], perhaps the accidental-release theory does seem worthy of investigation.

[0] https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/14/state-dep...

Re: Dr. Fauci Backed Controversial Wuhan Lab for Risky Coronavirus Research

#17

Post by RobertoG »

hef19898 wrote: post #8

This kind of research seems to be a rather normal and reasonable thing to do. That being said, I have two issues with this article: - it makes the Wuhan lab story sound credible, while it is just another conspiracy theory - it paints Dr. Fauci in a bad light by linking him to that lab and the theory The factually true info is the kind of research and the fact that it was cofunded by the Fauci org. Everything else is…

I agree that the link to Dr.Fauci is only "click bait" but, after reading another linked article, I have changed my mind and now I think that the Wuhan lab theory deserves some consideration.

This is the more interesting article in my opinion:

https://www.newsweek.com/controversial-wuhan-lab-experiments...

Re: Dr. Fauci Backed Controversial Wuhan Lab for Risky Coronavirus Research

#18

Post by blackrock »

So which is it guys?

1) It was man-made, and biologically engineered in a lab. It escaped containment.

2) It came into being because the Chinese eat bats. So China should shut down the wet markets.

Because it cannot be both.

The Trump Regime is lying and talking out of their asses, to cover up their own incompetence. And they are saying that it is both. And the American public are so gullible, that they’re believing everything Trump’s henchmen are saying (or at least his supporters are).

Perhaps a more plausible theory, is that it really did emerge naturally from some random mutation in nature. And the Chinese were the first to detect it.

The Lancet published back in January [1], a theory that the virus had no connection to the Wuhan Seafood Market, this was just coincidence that some early patients had gone there.

Thus, the virus existed, before it got to the seafood market.

The interesting new info, is that the French are now saying that they detected their first case back in December 27, 2019, after reviewing old case files [2]. This was 4 days before China published to the W.H.O. about the possibility of a new novel coronavirus.

How is this even possible? Did the virus just magically hop on a plane in December?

[1] https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/01/wuhan-seafood-market...

[2] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/05/03/french-politicia...

Edit: If you’re going to downvote me, then provide some counter evidence to prove me wrong.

Re: Dr. Fauci Backed Controversial Wuhan Lab for Risky Coronavirus Research

#19

Post by hef19898 »

yung0 wrote: post #11
hef19898 wrote: post #8

This kind of research seems to be a rather normal and reasonable thing to do. That being said, I have two issues with this article: - it makes the Wuhan lab story sound credible, while it is just another conspiracy theory - it paints Dr. Fauci in a bad light by linking him to that lab and the theory The factually true info is the kind of research and the fact that it was cofunded by the Fauci org. Everything else is…

"(At this point most scientists say it's possible—but not likely—that the pandemic virus was engineered or manipulated.)" It seems as if they're confusing the 'possibility' of the manipulation theory with the 'possibility' of the lab escape theory (which is technically possible, but very, very unlikely).

Of course the theoretical possiblity cannot be excluded. I think you're right, this can be the cause for confusion. It can also be used to promote certain agendas and spin. It even gives a certain degree of credibility, as there will be scientist that cam be quoted verbatim. I think this article falls in the agenda category, and not the confusion onr.

Re: Dr. Fauci Backed Controversial Wuhan Lab for Risky Coronavirus Research

#20

Post by hef19898 »

RobertoG wrote: post #17
hef19898 wrote: post #8

This kind of research seems to be a rather normal and reasonable thing to do. That being said, I have two issues with this article: - it makes the Wuhan lab story sound credible, while it is just another conspiracy theory - it paints Dr. Fauci in a bad light by linking him to that lab and the theory The factually true info is the kind of research and the fact that it was cofunded by the Fauci org. Everything else is…

I agree that the link to Dr.Fauci is only "click bait" but, after reading another linked article, I have changed my mind and now I think that the Wuhan lab theory deserves some consideration. This is the more interesting article in my opinion: https://www.newsweek.com/controversial-wuhan-lab-experiments...

Same source, so same potential agenda. If some other new outlet, preferably multiple, are confirming the facts, that would be different. All I heard about the Wuhan lab story was CT stuff back in January and February, until it popped up again recently after Trump, allegedly, pushed US intel to dig into it. And now this, at it's core, anti Fauci piece.
Post reply on HN