By Sheila Mckenzie-
The theory that the COVID-19 pandemic was triggered by the Sars-CoV-2 virus being leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China is not supported by evidence, according to eminent researchers at Leeds University.
Keith Greehan, a posdoctoral researcher in molecular biology, has discredited an explosive article in the Wall Street Journal(WSJ), in which the authors claimed “the most compelling reason to favour the lab leak hypothesis is firmly based in science”, is uncorroborated, the virologist experts argue.
Greehan has accused the media of spreading news not supported by evidence, and seeks to weaken the circulation of information he insists is inaccurate.
Viruses similar to the original Sars-CoV that cause Sars are found in bats, where the 2002 Sars outbreak originated, but related viruses have been found globally, Greehan states.
Speaking to The Eye Of Media.Com Greehan said: ” it is important an issue as sensitive as the origin of bats is handled and reported responsibly. In a time when the world is battling misinformation, it is absolutely important the media itself guards against any inadvertent dissemination of misinformation. Careful assessment is imperative when dealing with matters associated with a pandemic”, he said.
In the WSJ article, the authors, Prof Richard Muller, an astrophysicist, and Dr Steven Quay, physician and chief executive of Atossa Therapeutics, claim Sars-CoV-2 has “genetic fingerprints” of a lab-origin virus. They say that the presence of a particular genetic sequence (CGG-CGG) is a sign that the virus originated in a lab.
” When a virus infects a cell, it hijacks the cellular machinery, providing instructions (genome) to produce more copies of itself. This genome comprises a long series of molecules called nucleotides, each of which is represented by the letters A, C, G or U.
”A group of three nucleotides (known as a codon) provides the instruction for a cell to make an amino acid, the most basic molecular building block of living things. Most amino acids are encoded by several different codons. CGG is one of six possible codons that instruct the cell to add the amino acid arginine”, he adds.
The authors of the WSJ article argue that Sars-CoV-2 originated in a lab based on the presence of a “CGG-CGG” sequence. They claim this is a “readily available and convenient” codon pair that scientists prefer to use to produce the amino acid arginine. But to anyone with an understanding of the techniques required for genetic modification, this double-CGG is usually no more difficult or easy to produce than any other pair of codons that encode arginines”.
He contests the claim by the authors that recombination, which occurs when viruses that infect the same host share genetic material, was the most likely way in which Sars-CoV-2 was able to obtain the double-CGG sequence.
The WSJ authours noted that the double-CGG codon pair is not found in other members of this “class” of coronavirus, so natural recombination could not possibly generate a double-CGG. However, viruses do not just depend on preassembled segments of genetic material to evolve and expand their host range.
Greehan dismisses the authors claim that mutation is unlikely to generate the double-CGG sequence.
Supporting his views is virologist researcher, Natalie Kingston, who is also critical of the Wall journal authours who say the accumulation of mutations a common inconvenience of virological studies. ”Recombination is one of the ways in which viruses evolve, but dismissing mutation as a source of viral change is erroneous, she said.
Kingston also dismisses the claim that the first sequenced Sars-CoV-2 virus was ideally suited to the human host neglects evidence of viral circulation in local animal populations, animal-to-animal transmission, and the rapid evolution that is driving the increasing transmissibility of the newer variants.
”Further evolution is evidence of the fallacy of this claim”, she said
Media articles that have accepted and repeated the claims from the WSJ article should be dismissed, according to the researchers because The origin of Sars-CoV-2 that scientifically supports the concept of a lab leak of a genetically engineered virus.
U.S. President Joe Biden recently launched a new investigation into the origins of COVID-19.In a statement from the White House, Biden said the U.S. Intelligence Community has agreed on “two likely scenarios” — human contact with an infected animal, or a laboratory accident. (Though neither one has been deemed more probable than the other, according to the statement).
The World Health Organization (WHO) has concluded its own investigation with no clear answers contained in its 120-page report provided no definitive answers as to origins, but said the lab-leak theory was “extremely unlikely,” and needs to be studied further. The report concluded, “all hypotheses remain on the table.”