
Unusual Features of the SARS-CoV-2 Genome - guybedo
https://zenodo.org/record/4028830#.X1_US9ZuhTY
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dm319
A strangely written paper, with some strong statements, underlining and bold
sections. I'm not sure I buy their premise that the origin of the virus is
censored in peer reviewed journals, and certainly it doesn't look like they
tried too hard to get this accepted.

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aeternum
Are there any journals that list the reasons why a paper is not accepted? It
would be great to see evidence-based counter arguments to the issues brought
up here especially since this is so political.

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biscottigelato
Maybe even more troubling than the potential that the virus is engineered.
It's that why are American institutions trying to limit distribution on a
scientific literature just because of the literature's implications?
Chilling...

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dm319
The sequenced genome is freely available to all to look at, and compare to
other genomes. While gene editing is not my field, if SARS-Cov-2 looked
obviously man-made, I don't think any single institution / country could stop
an international community of scientists from talking about this. If the
evidence of gene editing is more subtle, I suspect it will simply come out in
time.

Also, there is already a paper looking at whether sars-cov-2 is man-made,
published in one of the most prestigious scientific journals in the world (not
American):

[https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-0820-9](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-0820-9)

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Mizza
I strongly suspect this is the case, though talking about it too loudly
quickly brings accusations of crankery and "sinophobia".

There are far too many coincidences and the damage has been too catastrophic
for this not be investigated so that it isn't allowed to happen again.

Even if can be scientifically proven that the virus was not engineered, there
is still plenty of evidence that China covered it up, silenced researchers and
destroyed evidence which would have helped prepare the international
community, all in the effort to save the reputation of the ruling party. The
WHO played a role in this as well - they still have tweets up saying that
human-to-human transmission is not possible, because they trust the Chinese
scientists who told them so!

I have spent time in China and found the disregard for public safety, and more
generally the disregard for the value of human life, to be absolutely
shocking. (As an example, when I was there, they opened the bullet train from
Shanghai to Beijing. In the opening weeks, there was a disastrous collision,
knocking a whole train off of a bridge and killing everybody on board. It was,
quite literally, covered up: they simply covered the destroyed train with
dirt, not even removing the bodies. Train service resumed shortly after [0]).

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wenzhou_train_collision](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wenzhou_train_collision)

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zrth
The Wikipedia source you liked to contradicts what you wrote.

You write: _' knocking a whole train off of a bridge and killing everybody on
board'_

Wikipedia writes: _' The two trains derailed each other, and four cars fell
off the viaduct. 40 people were killed, at least 192 were injured, 12 of which
were severe injuries.'_

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Mizza
Okay, it killed 40 people and injured 192. It doesn't change my point.
"Killing lots of people on board."

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dippersauce
It doesn’t have to change your point to severely reduce a reader’s confidence
in it. A kind reader would say that difference in detail is hyperbole with the
intent to incite an emotional response. A less kind reader would call making
up details to better suit your narrative a form of lying. Yes they covered up
the train incident, and yes it was despicable and horrible they did so. That
aspect is not my problem, it’s the deliberate choice of words to foster not
discussion, but outrage. It makes me question your entire narrative and intent
before I’ve even had a chance to consider it.

~~~
Mizza
Part of the reason that I didn't know is that while it was unfolding, the
state told news reporters not to cover it in detail - the implication was the
everybody had died, and that it was not to be discussed any further. I had not
looked at the case since. It is fortunate that more people were not harmed,
given how many people were on the train.

Truth is hard to come by in China.

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dmitrygr
Interesting if true. Chances of a real investigation to determine if true:
approximately zero. It is too political. Maybe in 50-ish years we can have an
impartial inquiry into this.

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jula432vdf
The good news is: someone out there knows how to defeat the virus.

The bad news: someone out there knows how to make this kind of viruses

