Wuhan viral source: follow the sequence.

Here’s a pretty good article in WaPo about the possible sources of Covid 19. It’s written by a virologist and a microbiology post doc. They say it’s probably from a natural source and there’s nothing remarkable about the way its mutations have evolved. In fact, they say that certain features of Covid 19 point to it not being engineered for gain of function. (From a structural point of view that might be trickier to engineer than it sounds. Little changes in structure due to targeted mutations could have a significant effect on function. I guess we would have to read the literature on that. Maybe later. I’ll leave it those who get paid the big bucks.)

That’s not to say that there isn’t any point to investigating the origin thoroughly. That’s what epidemiologists do. To do that, they’re going to have to examine the sequences of the outbreak in the location where it first happened. And to do that, they’re going to need the permission of the Chinese government. We probably shouldn’t expect full cooperation there. There’s a party line and scientists are reluctant to cross it if it means their careers and family’s economic security may be affected. It’s probably not spelled out like that explicitly. But I wouldn’t be surprised if culture had a big effect on getting to the bottom of the issue.

Even if it is determined that the source was natural and involved other species, the conspiracy theorists are unlikely to believe it. I don’t have a dog in this fight. I just want to know the truth someday.

It still doesn’t excuse the bad response from the previous administration. I’ll never understand that. It would have been so easy for them to be heros.

Go figure.