2. Again, no outright conspiracy theories please. Here is another explanation: The new #coronavirus is an RNA virus—that is, viruses that have RNA as their genetic material rather than DNA—which have a “high mutation rate,” which allows it to “change properties very quickly.”
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3. The RNA sequences of the
#coronavirus isolated from 6 patients from the same household are different from each other (Lancet), sign of the virus evolving. This may not be so good to the ear; it suggests the difficulty of containing this virus”. (from https://m.theepochtimes.com/china-underreporting-true-scale-of-deadly-viral-outbreak-expert-says_3218207.html …)Prikaži ovu nit -
4. DEEPER DIVE into
#coronavirus RNA genome
, here goes... “it came from bats
” is often heard, but it’s trickier. The
has similarities to bat coronavirus, but this new paper REJECTS there was recent recombination. There is something discordant too:https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.01.26.920249v1 …Prikaži ovu nit -
5. (Continued from above)... “A BLAST search of 2019-nCoV middle fragment revealed no considerable similarity with any of the previously characterized corona viruses (figure 2)” —> it’s a sequence entirely new to any known
#coronavirus. What does this mean? We don’t know yet.Prikaži ovu nit -
6. “Notably, the new coronavirus provides a new lineage for almost half of its genome, with no close genetic relationships to other viruses within the subgenus of sarbecovirus.” —> basically it’s saying it’s completely brand new to
#coronavirus subgenus.Prikaži ovu nit -
7. Very strange: So what is in this new mystery middle segment that has no
#coronavirus history? The study authors continue: “This genomic part comprises also half of the spike region encoding a multifunctional protein responsible also for virus entry into host cells[30,31]”.
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8. Continuing: “Our study rejects the hypothesis of emergence as a result of a recent recombination event.”—> I.e. the authors also conclude that the new
#coronavirus did not originate from random recent admixture between different coronaviruses. Other possibilities of course.Prikaži ovu nit -
9. BOTTOMLINE: 1) Seafood market not the source. 2) This RNA
#coronavirus mutates really fast. 3)
has unusual middle segment never seen before in any coronavirus. 4) Not from recent mixing. 5) That mystery middle segment encodes protein responsible for entry into host cells.Prikaži ovu nit -
10. TO BE CLEAR: I am absolutely not saying it’s bioengineering, nor am I supporting any conspiracy theories with no evidence. I’m simply saying scientists need to do more research + get more data. And finding the origin of the virus is an important research priority. Goodnight
pic.twitter.com/N4Yp2H8TstPrikaži ovu nit -
11. Dubbing this the [GENETIC THREAD]
thread, let’s delve back into the genetic similarities of the new
with SARS and bat #coronaviruses. Study in Lancet says ~88% related to closest bat coronavirus, 79% to SARS (which is more than humans-elephants) https://marlin-prod.literatumonline.com/pb-assets/Lancet/pdfs/S0140673620302518.pdf …pic.twitter.com/2568DtbsoJ
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12. ...As you can see, the new nCOV is a branch off the bat coronavirus subgenus. It is too distant from SARS (79%) or MERS (only 50% related)pic.twitter.com/A3nxtwt7Jh
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13. For the most part, the new
#coronavirus shares 87-88% overlap with bat coronavirus. But there are parts of it like the “S” gene
region where I drops to ~70%, and even 68% in lowest point. But other gene regions share
consensus as high as 95%.pic.twitter.com/XrIQOfgSOQ
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14. What is in the “S”
region of the #coronavirus? According to the Lancet piece (link
above), it encodes the virus envelop spike protein of the
for binding receptors of host cells - “crucial for host tropism” — which basically identifies how to target
host tissue.pic.twitter.com/rtqjDrtRgw
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15. One source or many sources? The mutation rate suggests the 2019-nCoV came from just one recent source in single jump (as opposed to several mutation sources). This doesn’t mean much other than it wasn’t several strains that started outbreak. Don’t over-interpret. Just FYI.pic.twitter.com/utEN7O4krg
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/ Epidemiologist / Health Economist / Harvard ‘07 + Johns Hopkins ‘04 / Taught 15yrs HarvardSPH / NYT-feat. pharma whistleblower