(Fighting against New Crown Pneumonia) Why is the "New Crown Virus Man-made Theory" widely criticized internationally?
China News Service, Beijing, May 24 (Zhang Su, Guo Chaokai) The new crown virus is still raging around the world, and conspiracy theories surrounding the source of the virus are everywhere. Although all the evidence so far shows that the "artificial new crown virus" guess lacks scientific support, the scientists' conclusions have not prevented some politicians from speculating for political purposes.
The "man-made" "new crown virus man-made theory" is no less harmful than the new crown virus itself. This is why this argument has been criticized by more and more people of insight in the international arena.
Why is the "New Coronavirus Man-made Theory" scientifically untenable? Based on the research results of the Chinese and foreign scientific research teams, there are at least the following three aspects:
First, scientists found coronavirus strains in wild animals that are very close to the new coronavirus, indicating that such viruses exist in natural hosts. For example, the team of Shi Zhengli of the Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, isolated the RaTG13 strain from bats in Yunnan and found that the strain has a 96% sequence identity with the new coronavirus genome. World Health Organization officials said that at present about 15,000 complete viral gene sequences show that the new coronavirus is not "artificial".
Secondly, scientists have found evolutionary events similar to the new coronavirus from nature, indicating that "some evolutionary characteristics of the new coronavirus are not unique." A joint team from China and Australia has recently added strength to this judgment. They found that the characteristics of the new coronavirus can evolve naturally, rather than caused by artificial gene editing, as some people say.
Anthony Fudge, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, noted this. He told the media that the scientific evidence strongly indicated that the new coronavirus gradually evolved over time, which indicated that it had evolved in nature and had undergone cross-species infection.
Thirdly, people infer the characteristics of the new coronavirus based on the existing scientific research results, which cannot be achieved by human operation. The international team involved in the Scripps Research Institute and other organizations in the United States analyzed and compared the genome data of multiple coronaviruses and found that the receptor binding domain of the spike protein of the new coronavirus and the "angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2)" of human cells The high efficiency of body integration is beyond the reach of human genetic engineering. Other scholars believe that the unique molecular structure of the new coronavirus also excludes the possibility of its synthesis in the laboratory.
"Any biological engineer who is trying to build a coronavirus weapon cannot design a virus with a spike protein conformation like the new coronavirus." Francis Collins, who has served as president of the National Institutes of Health for many years, commented.
The "New Crown Virus Man-made Theory", which could not find scientific support, was heated, which caused many scholars to be vigilant. "Rumors and speculation about the new crown virus seem to be spreading faster and wider than the virus itself." Francis Collins said, calling on him to "use professional information to distinguish rumors from facts, and to build the world's power together." Responding to this global public health emergency. "
"The source of the new coronavirus should not be a matter for politicians to discuss. Frankly, countries around the world should concentrate on fighting the epidemic and take effective measures to control the spread of the epidemic like China." The reporter said in an interview.
"Conspiracy theory cannot become the mainstream, and we must rely on the mainstream scientific community to solve problems." In early February, 27 well-known scholars from eight countries issued a joint statement, condemning conspiracy theories surrounding the new coronavirus. The three top academic journals "Nature", "Science" and "The Lancet" all spoke out to refute the conspiracy theory. The 73rd World Health Assembly recently held a resolution on the new crown epidemic situation, strictly restricting the scope of the virus traceability research to finding animal sources, intermediate hosts and transmission routes.
As the French infectious disease scientist Benjamin Daviedo said, the view that "the new coronavirus is artificial" is a speculation, which is too much political factors, but "the focus is now on science, not politics." . (Finish)