I don't think this was really developed in a lab. There's an awful lot of evidence that it originated in bats, and that the lab in Wuhan was working with it for that reason (i.e. because it had already been found in the wild, and there was concern that it could jump to humans). So it was multiplying in the lab, and maybe undergoing some different mutation patterns than it did in the wild, but I think the whole idea that it was deliberately developed in a lab to have the characteristics it displayed when it started spreading in the human population, is a half-cocked conspiracy theory.
With all due respect, because I appreciate very much our dialogue, on this one, I am going with the - conspiracy theory -. Based on my readings. However, there are many, of course, who agree with you.
There's a lot that's unknown, and will probably remain that way. There doesn't seem to be any real question that it originated in bats in China. And in the normal course of business, per everything we know about the Wuhan lab, they would be studying this type of virus when new strains of particular concern pop up in wildlife. Given the eating habits of many Chinese, any virus that shows up in wildlife, that has the potential to infect humans, will do so sooner or later. So there's nothing fishy about this virus having been the subject of ongoing research in the Wuhan lab.
Could they have deliberately done something to it there, that created a new and more dangerous-to-humans strain? Sure. Could they have accidentally done something to it there, that created a new and more dangerous-to-humans strain? Sure, and that seems somewhat more likely than the deliberately option. If they were looking to create a viral bioweapon, starting with something that was already circulating in humans would have made a lot more sense.
Personally, I don't think there's evidence of any deliberate intent to create a new virus with human pandemic potential. The "conspiracy theory" that I find much more plausible is the one that holds that once this virus jumped directly from bats to humans and/or accidentally "escaped" from the Wuhan lab via an infected worker and began spreading among humans in Wuhan, Xi decided that if his country was going to take a hard hit from it, he wanted other countries -- especially the US -- to take a hard hit from it too, and so went to some lengths to conceal what was happening in Wuhan for as long as possible, to ensure that the virus would spread to Western Europe and the US.
Yes, great point. Also, does a lab grown frankenstein virus mutate the same way a wildtype one would?
I don't think this was really developed in a lab. There's an awful lot of evidence that it originated in bats, and that the lab in Wuhan was working with it for that reason (i.e. because it had already been found in the wild, and there was concern that it could jump to humans). So it was multiplying in the lab, and maybe undergoing some different mutation patterns than it did in the wild, but I think the whole idea that it was deliberately developed in a lab to have the characteristics it displayed when it started spreading in the human population, is a half-cocked conspiracy theory.
With all due respect, because I appreciate very much our dialogue, on this one, I am going with the - conspiracy theory -. Based on my readings. However, there are many, of course, who agree with you.
There's a lot that's unknown, and will probably remain that way. There doesn't seem to be any real question that it originated in bats in China. And in the normal course of business, per everything we know about the Wuhan lab, they would be studying this type of virus when new strains of particular concern pop up in wildlife. Given the eating habits of many Chinese, any virus that shows up in wildlife, that has the potential to infect humans, will do so sooner or later. So there's nothing fishy about this virus having been the subject of ongoing research in the Wuhan lab.
Could they have deliberately done something to it there, that created a new and more dangerous-to-humans strain? Sure. Could they have accidentally done something to it there, that created a new and more dangerous-to-humans strain? Sure, and that seems somewhat more likely than the deliberately option. If they were looking to create a viral bioweapon, starting with something that was already circulating in humans would have made a lot more sense.
Personally, I don't think there's evidence of any deliberate intent to create a new virus with human pandemic potential. The "conspiracy theory" that I find much more plausible is the one that holds that once this virus jumped directly from bats to humans and/or accidentally "escaped" from the Wuhan lab via an infected worker and began spreading among humans in Wuhan, Xi decided that if his country was going to take a hard hit from it, he wanted other countries -- especially the US -- to take a hard hit from it too, and so went to some lengths to conceal what was happening in Wuhan for as long as possible, to ensure that the virus would spread to Western Europe and the US.