See other Science/Tech Articles
Title: COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic has a natural origin
Source:
Scripps Research Institute
URL Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/03/200317175442.htm
Published: Mar 20, 2020
Author: staff
Post Date: 2020-03-20 10:16:31 by Ada
Keywords: None
Views: 1137
Comments: 14
Summary: An analysis of public genome sequence data from SARS-CoV-2 and related viruses found no evidence that the virus was made in a laboratory or otherwise engineered. The novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that emerged in the city of Wuhan, China, last year and has since caused a large scale COVID-19 epidemic and spread to more than 70 other countries is the product of natural evolution, according to findings published today in the journal Nature Medicine. The analysis of public genome sequence data from SARS-CoV-2 and related viruses found no evidence that the virus was made in a laboratory or otherwise engineered. "By comparing the available genome sequence data for known coronavirus strains, we can firmly determine that SARS-CoV-2 originated through natural processes," said Kristian Andersen, PhD, an associate professor of immunology and microbiology at Scripps Research and corresponding author on the paper. In addition to Andersen, authors on the paper, "The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2," include Robert F. Garry, of Tulane University; Edward Holmes, of the University of Sydney; Andrew Rambaut, of University of Edinburgh; W. Ian Lipkin, of Columbia University. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause illnesses ranging widely in severity. The first known severe illness caused by a coronavirus emerged with the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic in China. A second outbreak of severe illness began in 2012 in Saudi Arabia with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). On December 31 of last year, Chinese authorities alerted the World Health Organization of an outbreak of a novel strain of coronavirus causing severe illness, which was subsequently named SARS-CoV-2. As of February 20, 2020, nearly 167,500 COVID-19 cases have been documented, although many more mild cases have likely gone undiagnosed. The virus has killed over 6,600 people. Shortly after the epidemic began, Chinese scientists sequenced the genome of SARS-CoV-2 and made the data available to researchers worldwide. The resulting genomic sequence data has shown that Chinese authorities rapidly detected the epidemic and that the number of COVID-19 cases have been increasing because of human to human transmission after a single introduction into the human population. Andersen and collaborators at several other research institutions used this sequencing data to explore the origins and evolution of SARS-CoV-2 by focusing in on several tell-tale features of the virus. The scientists analyzed the genetic template for spike proteins, armatures on the outside of the virus that it uses to grab and penetrate the outer walls of human and animal cells. More specifically, they focused on two important features of the spike protein: the receptor-binding domain (RBD), a kind of grappling hook that grips onto host cells, and the cleavage site, a molecular can opener that allows the virus to crack open and enter host cells. Evidence for natural evolution The scientists found that the RBD portion of the SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins had evolved to effectively target a molecular feature on the outside of human cells called ACE2, a receptor involved in regulating blood pressure. The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein was so effective at binding the human cells, in fact, that the scientists concluded it was the result of natural selection and not the product of genetic engineering. This evidence for natural evolution was supported by data on SARS-CoV-2's backbone -- its overall molecular structure. If someone were seeking to engineer a new coronavirus as a pathogen, they would have constructed it from the backbone of a virus known to cause illness. But the scientists found that the SARS-CoV-2 backbone differed substantially from those of already known coronaviruses and mostly resembled related viruses found in bats and pangolins. "These two features of the virus, the mutations in the RBD portion of the spike protein and its distinct backbone, rules out laboratory manipulation as a potential origin for SARS-CoV-2" said Andersen. Josie Golding, PhD, epidemics lead at UK-based Wellcome Trust, said the findings by Andersen and his colleagues are "crucially important to bring an evidence-based view to the rumors that have been circulating about the origins of the virus (SARS-CoV-2) causing COVID-19." "They conclude that the virus is the product of natural evolution," Goulding adds, "ending any speculation about deliberate genetic engineering." Possible origins of the virus Based on their genomic sequencing analysis, Andersen and his collaborators concluded that the most likely origins for SARS-CoV-2 followed one of two possible scenarios. In one scenario, the virus evolved to its current pathogenic state through natural selection in a non-human host and then jumped to humans. This is how previous coronavirus outbreaks have emerged, with humans contracting the virus after direct exposure to civets (SARS) and camels (MERS). The researchers proposed bats as the most likely reservoir for SARS-CoV-2 as it is very similar to a bat coronavirus. There are no documented cases of direct bat-human transmission, however, suggesting that an intermediate host was likely involved between bats and humans. In this scenario, both of the distinctive features of SARS-CoV-2's spike protein -- the RBD portion that binds to cells and the cleavage site that opens the virus up -- would have evolved to their current state prior to entering humans. In this case, the current epidemic would probably have emerged rapidly as soon as humans were infected, as the virus would have already evolved the features that make it pathogenic and able to spread between people. In the other proposed scenario, a non-pathogenic version of the virus jumped from an animal host into humans and then evolved to its current pathogenic state within the human population. For instance, some coronaviruses from pangolins, armadillo-like mammals found in Asia and Africa, have an RBD structure very similar to that of SARS-CoV-2. A coronavirus from a pangolin could possibly have been transmitted to a human, either directly or through an intermediary host such as civets or ferrets. Then the other distinct spike protein characteristic of SARS-CoV-2, the cleavage site, could have evolved within a human host, possibly via limited undetected circulation in the human population prior to the beginning of the epidemic. The researchers found that the SARS-CoV-2 cleavage site, appears similar to the cleavage sites of strains of bird flu that has been shown to transmit easily between people. SARS-CoV-2 could have evolved such a virulent cleavage site in human cells and soon kicked off the current epidemic, as the coronavirus would possibly have become far more capable of spreading between people. Study co-author Andrew Rambaut cautioned that it is difficult if not impossible to know at this point which of the scenarios is most likely. If the SARS-CoV-2 entered humans in its current pathogenic form from an animal source, it raises the probability of future outbreaks, as the illness-causing strain of the virus could still be circulating in the animal population and might once again jump into humans. The chances are lower of a non-pathogenic coronavirus entering the human population and then evolving properties similar to SARS-CoV-2. Funding for the research was provided by the US National Institutes of Health, the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Wellcome Trust, the European Research Council, and an ARC Australian Laureate Fellowship.
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: Ada (#0)
Does not mention 1) Crisper marks from splicing and 2) that the HIV virus was spliced into it.
The Truth of 911 Shall Set You Free From The Lie
The "Beer" virus was developed on a US military base in MD. Taken to China during the military games in China, it was planted, four US military got it, infected a lot of people that went back to their own country and the rest is history. Remember the Spanish flu came from a US military base in Kansas in the US of A
Know anything about them? Are they legit or wholly-owned CIA?
Ok so the first known victim of Spanish Flu was a cook. And it seems from there several draftees were infected and Spanish Flu spread. It seems 2 to 4 million died from that Flu. That is more than the Bubonic Plague. ;) www.army.mil/article/1880...learn_history_of_sp anish_flu_at_fort_riley "When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one." Edmund Burke
"When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one." Edmund Burke
It wasn't the flu, it was a bacterial pneumonia caused by an experimental vaccine they were given at Fort Riley. It spread in the trenches of WWI. 50 million worldwide died from the Spanish flu.550,000 of 106 million Americans. But 80% of everyone in Samoa.
The Truth of 911 Shall Set You Free From The Lie
Thanks. They seem to be well regarded. But its funding raises an eyebrow. Funding Grants and contracts provide funding for a significant portion of the institute's research. This revenue is derived primarily from the National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies. In addition, grantors include, among others, the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and the Juvenile Diabetes Association. Gifts from individuals and private foundations provide an important source of funding for TSRI. Private foundations that have provided support include the ALSAM Foundation, Lucille P. Markey Charitable Trust, W.M. Keck Foundation, Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, Pew Charitable Trusts, the Ellison Medical Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Harold L. Dorris Foundation.[32][33] The establishment of the Scripps Florida campus was made possible by a one-time $310 million appropriation of federal economic development funds and by the Florida State Legislature and by an economic package provided by Palm Beach County.[34]
That is a sizeable chunk of change. Nothing to sneeze at for certain. Not to mention there are quite a few well off people living in Palm Beach County. One of the Jew boys I worked with on the State Highways retired to Florida. He got tired of sitting around doing nothing, so he went to the County Highway Dept and filled out some paperwork. When the man read it he said, "You are just the kind of guy we've been looking for." He is likely dead by now since he was in WW II. ;) "When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one." Edmund Burke
Samoa, perhaps due to its remoteness, gets hard hit the epidemics. The latest measles outbreak didn't kill anyone in the US AFAIK but killed quite a few Samoans.
Other remote areas. Diseases strike different races at different rates.
The Truth of 911 Shall Set You Free From The Lie
IIRC the Indian reservations were especially hard hit by the "Spanish" flu.
I read about a man whose father was the health commissioner in a small county in Utah during the Spanish flu epidemic. His dad took him out to an Indian village. People were dying like flies. They discovered that the people would gather in a closed tent around a dead person all night long. Not a good practice. Not genetic though.
The Truth of 911 Shall Set You Free From The Lie
They still do now, with everybody. They're called funerals, not in tents but gaudy meeting rooms. One of my former high school classmates went into the family business of preying on the bereaved. His business is folks dyin', and business is good. Agree. It's morbid, maybe I've just had to go too many of them. When Mom died in Hospice, she'd told me that she didn't want a funeral. Probably a good thing. My classmate's biz didn't want to honor their commitment on her pre-paid BS. I'm lucky they paid for her cremation. Hell, they wouldn't even pay the cost to dig a post-hole to throw the $1,000 WalMart urn into. Mom's ashes ended up residing in the attic of my shop for awhile while I tried to get someone to do the right thing. Finally I got fed up and hacked open the $2.00 hermetically sealed (glued) urn open. Thankfully, they had Mom in a zip-lock bag with a little metal ID tag zip tied to it. The tag is in my desk drawer. I wanted to spread some of Mom's ashes on my step-dad's grave, but I couldn't find it or any info on the internet. I dumped Mom on her folk's grave, My Dad's and Mom's stillborn brother (circa 1927). Mom's grave was already marked, with Dad, as was my younger sister's with Mom's brother. They're all in the same place now. At least they didn't charge me to scratch Mom's date-of-death on her tombstone, I guess that was included when Dad died in 1976. Gotta love the blue-collar dirtbags. We keep our word. Not so much with the suit-wearers. FF to last August. My younger sister died in the MedicAid waiver home my (now) ex-wife and I got her into before Mom died. She was severely and profoundly mentally retarded and needed 24/7 care. Mom had set things up for my wife to be in charge of my sister. It just wasn't appropriate for a man to be in charge of a girl (woman, i guess). She died of some weird blood disease called Sepsis. I wasn't going to go to the funeral. Morbid, remember? Wrong. Some damned gal-pal shows up at my house, throws me in the shower, with a pretty good hangover, I might add, and drags me to the horrible spectacle. Jesus, it looked like a MLK rally (my sister's three shifts of care givers). Probably a good thing that I just came off of my court- mandated, 60 hours of PC/non-violence/diversity/tolerance indoctrination. In the first row was: My ex, her newly-rich new husband, my ex in-laws (all my favorite people). On the other side: My estranged older sister, my gal-pal (who seems to have a morbid desire to go to funerals), me and my young neighbor Angie. She left the hubby and kids at home. I didn't look up much during the debacle, but I noticed Angie had on black fingernail polish. I thought that that was pretty classy for someone in my hood. When I asked her about that a couple months later, she told me it was a really dark purple. Good enough. God, that day sucked. No, I think it's something embedded in the human genome. Just not mine, anymore. RIP, Rutger Hauer, 2019 Godfrey Smith: Mike, I wouldn't worry. Prosperity is just around the corner.
#2. To: Ada (#0)
#3. To: Horse (#1)
Scripps Research Institute
#4. To: Darkwing (#2)
(Edited)
Remember the Spanish flu came from a US military base in Kansas in the US of A
#5. To: Ada (#3)
Scripps Research Institute
#6. To: BTP Holdings (#4)
(Edited)
"After tomorrow those SOB's will never embarrass me again. That’s not a threat. That’s a promise.” – LBJ to his mistress Madeleine Brown on the eve of JFK assassination 
#7. To: BTP Holdings (#4)
#8. To: BTP Holdings (#5)
#9. To: Ada (#8)
The establishment of the Scripps Florida campus was made possible by a one-time $310 million appropriation of federal economic development funds and by the Florida State Legislature and by an economic package provided by Palm Beach County.
#10. To: Horse (#7)
#11. To: Ada (#10)
#12. To: Horse (#11)
#13. To: Ada (#12)
#14. To: Horse, 4um (#13)
They discovered that the people would gather in a closed tent around a dead person all night long.
Not a good practice.
Not genetic though.
I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain... Time to die. - Roy Batty, "Blade Runner" (1982)
Mike Flaherty: Yeah, it's been there a long time. I wish I knew which corner.
My Man Godfrey (1936)
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest