• Report: Lab-Leak Theory of COVID-19 Origins Lacking Evidence So Far

    A new scientific report says that the lab-leak theory of the origins of COVID-19 has, so far, no evidence to support it. “Preventing future pandemics requires the political will to cut off the routes by which these viruses enter the human population. Focusing on the wrong direction will preclude those efforts from occurring,” says the report’s lead author. Regarding the lab-leak theory, the researcher adds: “It can’t be dismissed entirely, but it is highly unlikely. There’s no evidence for it right now.”

  • What Scientists Do and Don’t Know about COVID-19 Origins | The Rise of the Coronavirus Lab-Leak Theory | The Lab Leak Theory Doesn’t Hold Up, and more

    Editor’s note: This is the first of a 2-part list of the best articles on the origins of COVID-19. Tomorrow we will publish the second part of the list.

    ·  The COVID Lab-Leak Hypothesis: What Scientists Do and Don’t Know

    ·  The Known Knowns, Known Unknowns, and Unknown Unknowns of COVID-19

    ·  The Lab Leak Theory Doesn’t Hold Up

    ·  How COVID-19’s Origins Were Obscured, by the East and the West

    ·  The Lab-Leak Theory: Inside the Fight to Uncover COVID-19’s Origins

    ·  After the Lab-Leak Theory, U.S.-Chinese Relations Head Downhill

    ·  The Sudden Rise of the Coronavirus Lab-Leak Theory

    ·  China Is Pushing Its Own Coronavirus Lab Leak Theory in Latest Battle of Narratives

    ·  The Case against the Covid-19 Lab Leak Theory

    ·  Republican Report Says Coronavirus Leaked from China Lab; Scientists Still Probing Origins

    ·  The Right Way to Investigate the Origins of COVID-19

  • Large Pandemics Are More Likely Than We Thought

    The COVID-19 pandemic may be the deadliest viral outbreak the world has seen in more than a century. But statistically, such extreme events aren’t as rare as we may think. Most people are likely to experience an extreme pandemic like COVID-19 in their lifetime, a new study shows.

  • Data Mining Tools Tackle COVID-19 Misinformation, Identify Symptoms

    Computer scientists use Google Trends and a government dataset to track both COVID-19 symptoms and sift through misinformation about the disease on social media.

  • CDC Sets Up New Disease Forecasting Center

    The CDC announced a new center — the Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics — designed to advance the use of forecasting and outbreak analytics in public health decision making. Among other missions, the new center will accelerate access to and use of data for public health decision-makers who need information to mitigate the effects of disease threats, such as social and economic disruption.

  • Investments in Nature Needed to Stop the Next Pandemic: Experts

    A group of leading scientific experts from the U.S., Latin America, Africa and South Asia released a report outlining the strong scientific foundations for taking actions to stop the next pandemic by preventing the spillover of pathogens from animals to people. Among other findings, the report notes that protecting forests and changing agricultural practices are essential, cost-effective actions to prevent pandemics.

  • Focusing on Zoonotic Diseases

    Experts warn that zoonotic diseases—diseases caused by germs that spread from animals to people—are a growing and increasingly dangerous threat to global public health. Veterinarian and PNNL data scientist Lauren Charles talks animal-borne diseases—and how biosurveillance can help combat them

  • Debate over Origins of COVID-19 Continues

    At the end of the month, the U.S. intelligence community (IC) will submit a report to President Joe Biden offering the IC’s conclusions regarding the origins of COVID-1. The report is not likely to put an end to the debate, especially since China is refusing access to key materials and personnel.

  • How Have Communities Been Faring During COVID-19? And How Will Lessons Learned Inform Future Response and Planning?

    Now may be a good time to examine the choices communities made during the last year to see how these approaches shape continued COVID-19 response and recovery and help build resilience for future pandemic response.

  • Studies Look at COVID-19 Vaccines-Connected Clotting, Myocarditis

    Two studies published by JAMA Cardiology Tuesday discuss adverse effects associated with COVID-19 vaccines. Despite these risks, both research teams continue to advocate for COVID-19 vaccines as the health risks from the virus are far greater than those linked to the vaccine.

  • Path Towards a Global Pathogen Early Warning System

    The world’s ability to detect, track, and analyze disease threats has improved considerably over the past several decades, the COVID-19 pandemic drove home a terrible reality: the systems we had in place are still deeply insufficient for halting the rapid spread of a novel pathogen fast enough to prevent a staggering level of damage. 

  • Model Predicts COVID-19 Outbreak Two Weeks Ahead of Time

    People’s social behavior, reflected in their mobility data, is providing scientists with a way to forecast the spread of COVID-19 nationwide at the county level. The data-driven deep learning model which FAU researchers developed has important implications for managing the current pandemic as well as future pandemics.

  • First Case of Marburg Virus Infection Detected in Guinea

    The deadly Marburg disease has claimed its first victim in Guinea. The disease has been reported in Africa before, but the infection in Guinea is the first time the disease has been reported in West Africa. The Marburg virus is part of the Ebola family. In 2014-2015, tens of thousands died in Guinea, Sierra Leon, and Liberia from a rampaging Ebola outbreak.

  • Virus Likely Naturally Occurring: NIH

    The NIH says that based on the scientific literature, its view is that “SARS-CoV-2 infection in people most likely resulted from zoonotic transmission from animals to humans.” Current evidence does not support the assertion that the virus was engineered, but the NIH does not rule out the possibility of a laboratory accident, in which a naturally occurring virus was unintentionally released during research activities.

  • Lab-Leak of Genetically Modified Virus: Lawmakers’ Report

    Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) released on Monday a third installment in his investigation into the origins of the virus. The report says that the preponderance of evidence suggests that the pandemic outbreak stemmed from a genetically modified virus which leaked from Wuhan Institute of Virology.