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Chinese authorities silenced Li Wenliang, a doctor who tried to raise an early alarm and later died after contracting the virus. Journalists who tried to blow the whistle disappeared. Beijing forced Chinese staff serving news outlets (like The Times) to resign.
The genomic sequence of the virus, named SARS-CoV-2, was found to be 96% identical to that of a coronavirus the researchers had identified in horseshoe bats in Yunnan. The data point to a single introduction into humans, followed by sustained human-to-human transmission.
Independent teams of scientists have suggested that pangolins may have been an intermediate host for the novel coronavirus. These teams have reportedly uncovered SARS-CoV-2-like coronaviruses in Malayan pangolins that were seized in anti-smuggling operations in southern China.
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Based on Shi's research, the assumption that the types of coronaviruses found in bats (which are very similar to COVID-19 in humans) could not directly bind to the receptors in humans (ACE2 receptors) necessary for cell infection, has been proven false.
It points to research on bats and respiratory diseases carried by the animals at the Wuhan Center for Disease Control (WHCDC)—and the Wuhan Institute of Virology and WCDC being just 300 yards from the Huanan seafood market. But this report has since been deleted.
The journal says, "Many stories have promoted an unverified theory that the Wuhan lab discussed in this article played a role in the coronavirus outbreak that began in December 2019. Nature knows of no evidence that this is true."
He told National Geographic magazine that the evidence is “very, very strongly leaning toward this could not have been artificially or deliberately manipulated”. The US intelligence community has also ruled out any possibility the virus was man-made.
Dr Yan posted a paper on the the open-access repository website, Zenote. The paper examines evidence showing that SARS-CoV-2 is likely a laboratory product created using bat coronaviruses ZC45 and/or ZXC21 as a template and/or backbone.
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COVID-19 is a zoonotic virus, so can transfer from animals to humans and vice versa. Experts believe this strain of the virus originated in bats, then likely hung out in another species—where it lived and reproduced—before spreading to humans (likely at the Wuhan wet market).
According to Andersen, the so-called “cleavage” site that enables the virus’ entry into and infection of humans is a feature that diminishes in a lab-culture setting. He concludes, "Our analyses clearly show that SARS-CoV-2 is not a laboratory construct..."
This is according to a central government directive and online notices published by two Chinese universities, that have since been removed from the web. Studies on the origin of the virus will receive extra scrutiny and must be approved by central government officials.