By CharlotteWebster
Nearly 30% of Americans believe an unreliable theory that the coronavirus originated in a laboratory, according to a Pew Research Center poll. The conspiracy theory is winning many fans in the face of no supporting evidence because many people struggle to believe the coronavieus happened by chance.
The Pew survey found that 23% of respondents said the virus was intentionally developed inside a lab while 6% said it was made accidentally in a lab; 35% of those respondents were between ages 18-29 compared to only 21% of those 65 and older.
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The Institute of Virology, described as the most advanced laboratory of its type on the Chinese mainland, is situated in Wuhan and just ten miles from the market thought to be at the centre of the coronavirus crisis. The state-run People’s Daily newspaper reported in 2018 that the Institute – one of the most secure virology units in the world – was ‘capable of conducting experiments with highly pathogenic microorganisms’ such as the Ebola virus
Read more: https://metro.co.uk/2020/04/05/ministers-fear-coronavirus-might-leaked-lab-12510711/?ito=cbshare
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The close Wuhan Institute of Virology, a biosafety lab is located close to the seafood market where researchers believe the outbreak started (though there is some debate about the wet market hypothesis now). The Pew poll concluded that respondents with a high school diploma were more likely to believe the theory: 35% of those with a high school diploma or less said the coronavirus was made in a lab compared to 19% of those with a bachelor’s degree or more.
More black and Hispanic respondents also indicated they believe the theory, with 39% of Hispanic and 34% of black respondents saying so compared to 21% of white respondents. Researchers also found that the structure of the coronavirus is distinct from other known coronaviruses, more closely resembling viruses found in bats and pangolins that were not previously known to cause humans harm, according to the outlet.
“If someone were seeking to engineer a new coronavirus as a pathogen, they would have constructed i
The conspiracy entered the mainstream when Republican Senator Tom Cotton amplified the idea on January 30. Cotton has since clarified that he thinks the disease spreading naturally along with a breach in the lab is the most likely cause. Scientists say the “hook” portion of spike proteins that exist on the surface of the virus are too effective at attaching to human cells, suggesting that the proteins are a result of natural selection as opposed to genetic engineering, according to Live Science.
Kristian Andersen, an associate professor of immunology and microbiology at Scripps Research, and his colleagues examined the genetic template for the spike proteins that protrude from the surface of the virus.
The coronavirus uses these spikes to grab the outer walls of its host’s cells and then enter those cells. They specifically looked at the gene sequences responsible for two key features of these spike proteins: the grabber, called the receptor-binding domain, that hooks onto host cells; and the so-called cleavage site that allows the virus to open and enter those cells.
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