JavaScript is not available.

Apr 19

My colleague

and I spent months investigating

and the mysterious man behind it, Peter Bogner. Here's what we found.

The ‘invented persona’ behind a key pandemic database

GISAID offers a safe space to post viral genomes. Peter Bogner, its perplexing creator and overseer, may be jeopardizing its future

326

532

After the many complaints about

GISAID in crisis: can the controversial COVID genome database survive?

, "Scientists and funders around the world must now consider what lies ahead for the open sharing of genome data," writes

@marilenharo

nature.com

Nature - The most popular repository for sharing SARS-CoV-2 sequence data has come under increasing scrutiny. Scientists and funders around the world must now consider what lies ahead for the open...

First shared SARS-CoV-2 genome: GISAID vs virological.org

The

Visuals team is looking for a Publication Designer with a keen eye for photography and illustration, and exceptional typography skills. If a balanced rag and perfectly kerned headline are things that make your day, this job is for you. bit.ly/PubDesigner

Good point from

: Zhang Yong-Zhen of Fudan University in Shanghai reportedly faced repercussions from Chinese authorities for sharing the SARS-CoV-2 genome. “Why would they bother to go after him if the genome from the Chinese CDC had already been published?”

The

weighs in on the controversy over who first posted the SARS-CoV-2 genome. thelancet.com/journals/lanmi (GISAID did not respond to their questions but story links to a letter I received from GISAID last month.)

thelancet.com

The Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) has been a vital resource during the COVID-19 pandemic. About 15 million SARS-CoV-2 sequences have been uploaded to the GISAID database,...

"Virologists fear their database of mystery and intrigue," by

@SanderVoormolen

, (in Dutch). nrc.nl/nieuws/2023/04 Feat.

@firefoxx66

nrc.nl

Virologen vrezen hun databank van mysterie en intrige, waar rare dingen gebeuren

Ophef: Genoomdatabank Gisaid is de laatste jaren heel belangrijk geworden voor virologen. Maar die zijn bang voor de oprichter ervan.

Jeremy Kamil, @macroliter : same handle elsewhere

Apr 22

"The Internet has memories."

Quote Tweet

@macroliter

Apr 21

twitter.com/threadreaderap

Show this thread

Apr 20

Important point. 👇

Quote Tweet

Michael Worobey

@MichaelWorobey

Apr 20

An amazing read from @martinenserink and @sciencecohen. I do not wish to comment on the contents except for one issue that I find much graver than the others discussed. science.org/content/articl

Show this thread

Apr 19

I want to give a shout-out right away to the story's editors,

@johnstravis

and Tim Appenzeller; to

@ScienceVisuals

; and to

@ScienceMagazine

's enduring commitment to investigative science journalism. Stories like this take a huge amount of time and they're really a group effort.

Great to see that two

writers (

@rochmyaningsih

and

@kakape

) are in the 2023-24 Knight fellowship class. The rest of the group is impressive too; should be a great year. ksj.mit.edu/news/2023/04/1

Quote Tweet

KSJ at MIT

@KSJatMIT

Apr 19

We are thrilled to announce the multi-talented group of reporters and editors who will make up our 2023-24 Knight Science Journalism Fellowship Class: ksj.mit.edu/news/2023/04/1

Show this thread

(Also,

and

were among the finalists for their 2022 stories about mpox in

Trade Journalism Award Finalists

: nihcm.org/awards/trade-j )

nihcm.org

Recognizing excellence in writing for a specialized audience

Huge congrats to

and

, who won an

award for their blockbuster story about fraud in Alzheimer's research.

says he is baffled by the idea that the coronavirus genome... could have been uploaded earlier without media coverage. “It makes little sense,” he says."

@anjahuja

about my recent story on GISAID:

ft.com

We should learn from rival attempts to write pandemic history

Data-sharing was messy, as shown by duelling claims about who published the coronavirus genome sequence first

Mar 30

“The data are exceptionally valuable for further understanding the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic... Better late than never."

's story about the Huanan market data that came back online at GISAID.

Chinese researchers release genomic data that could help clarify origin of COVID-19 pandemic

Sequences from samples taken at Wuhan market confirm live animals were sold

Mar 30

PS Great (accidentally poetic?) quote from Zhang Yong-Zhen. science.org/content/articl

So who’s right? Make up your own mind: science.org/content/articl (fin)

Dispute simmers over who first shared SARS-CoV-2’s genome

Scientists suggest GISAID, a virus sequence database, is rewriting pandemic history

The authors of this paper, published in February, say they were pressured by

to drop a reference to the Zhang-Holmes genome and instead include a reference to the

@NEJM

paper. (The published version contains both.) nature.com/articles/s4159

has pushed its claim to be first on multiple fronts. This 2022

@nytimes

story that credited Zhang and Holmes with posting the first genome was corrected after a complaint from GISAID. nytimes.com/2022/03/21/hea

I asked the authors of the

@NEJM

paper on Monday if they are sure about that claim. They referred the question to a Pfizer spokesperson who says they are looking into the issue.

also points out that 4 published papers support its view. The most prominent one is a landmark Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine study, published in

@NEJM

in December 2020. It says vaccine development began on 10 January 2020, based on the GISAID sequences. nejm.org/doi/full/10.10

Bottom line from

: The official Xinhua timeline - and another one from

@WHO

, is wrong - as are all other accounts that say the same. It’s “misinformation.” (In other words, if you remember that the Zhang/Holmes genome was first, you are wrong.)

I asked

for evidence that the China CDC genomes went public on 10 January, and if so, why nobody appears to have noticed it. We have a link to their full answer in the story.

Dispute simmers over who first shared SARS-CoV-2’s genome

Scientists suggest GISAID, a virus sequence database, is rewriting pandemic history

So who was first? (HT:

@coroldo1

has tweeted about this for years. The question is even in their Twitter profile bio!)

George Gao, the head of the China CDC, confirms

’s version of events, for instance in the CNN documentary Race for the Vaccine. The genomes went live on 10 January, he said. But China’s official timeline, distributed by Xinhua, says 12 January. xinhuanet.com/english/2021-0

says those first two genomes came from the China CDC on 10 January. It has made its claim repeatedly, most recently in a statement last week. gisaid.org/statements-cla

But

, a big sequence database, is claiming that *it* posted the first genome, just over 24 hours before Zhang and Holmes, and immediately announced it on its website too. Do we all remember it wrong?

Dispute simmers over who first shared SARS-CoV-2’s genome

Scientists suggest GISAID, a virus sequence database, is rewriting pandemic history

Much about the Wuhan outbreak was opaque back then. Having a genome caused a sigh of relief. Many people in virology and global health celebrated it - and remember it.

Quote Tweet

Jeremy Farrar

@JeremyFarrar

Jan 11, 2020

Potentially really important moment in global public health-must be celebrated, everyone involved in Wuhan, in China & beyond acknowledged, thanked & get all the credit. Sharing of data good for public health, great for those who did the work. Just needs those incentives & trust

Show this thread

Novel 2019 coronavirus genome

Mar 30

The genome had been sequenced by Zhang Yong-Zhen in Shanghai and was submitted to virological.org by

@edwardcholmes

virological.org

10th January 2020 This posting is communicated by Edward C. Holmes, University of Sydney on behalf of the consortium led by Professor Yong-Zhen Zhang, Fudan University, Shanghai The Shanghai Public...

I remember January 11, 2020, a Saturday, quite well. I canceled my plans to edit this story by

about the first published SARS-CoV-2 genome. (We didn’t call it that yet.) It was big news. science.org/content/articl (🧵 with pics)

Chinese researchers reveal draft genome of virus implicated in Wuhan pneumonia outbreak

Scientists praise decision to make date public; U.S. group sets out to produce live virus from the sequence

Show this thread

Dr Sylvie Briand

@SCBriand

Mar 29

On 29 March, it is the 20th anniversary of the death of Dr Carlo Urbani, a

@WHO

staff member who lost his life during the successful efforts to contain the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in Vietnam. Thanks to all the health care workers who fight #epidemic

Marie-Ange Wambo

and 4 others

120

News from Science

Mar 29

For years, scientists and conservationists have urged China’s government to crack down on a thriving trade in wild animals. Now, some of those pleas are being answered.

China is cracking down on its wildlife trade. Is it enough?

Stricter rules could prevent disease outbreaks, but allowances for fur farming spur concern

Mar 29

I took a deep dive into another very strange tale from the pandemic. Story in

now up:

Dispute simmers over who first shared SARS-CoV-2’s genome

Scientists suggest GISAID, a virus sequence database, is rewriting pandemic history

102

Marburg fever outbreak in Equatorial Guinea widens, WHO reports

Helen Branswell

@HelenBranswell

Mar 22

The #Marburg outbreak in Equatorial Guinea is quite a bit bigger than we've been led to believe up till now. Nine confirmed cases, 20 probables. All but 2 of those people are dead; the epi links among some cases are unclear. Not great.

statnews.com

In nearly a month, the number of confirmed and probable cases has grown from nine to 29, with cases having been reported in three different provinces over a range of about 90 miles.

167

260

Congratulations to

, and

who were named finalists for the 2023

@NIHCMfoundation

’s Trade Journalism Award. bit.ly/TradeJn 🏆 #NIHCMAwardsJournalism Here's a look at the stories nominated. (THREAD) 🧵

"Every piece of data relating to studying the origins of COVID-19 needs to be shared with the international community immediately,"

@DrTedros

said today. New story by

‘It’s inexcusable.’ WHO blasts China for not disclosing potential data on COVID-19’s origin

“This is a clue and it’s an important one,” says scientist overseeing the global health agency’s probe into what sparked the pandemic

Mar 17

It's fascinating that these new data were foreshadowed in

's earlier story, which showed that China not only hates the lab leak theory but *also* a natural origin within its borders. It does not want to he the pandemic's cradle - period.

Where did the pandemic start? Anywhere but here, argue papers by Chinese scientists echoing party...

China doesn’t just reject the “lab-leak” theory. It now claims SARS-CoV-2 came from another country

When it comes to the COVID-19 origin debate,

is the best guide I know. Here's his story on those newly discovered sequences and what they mean.

Unearthed genetic sequences from China market may point to animal origin of COVID-19

French scientist finds previously undisclosed data from Chinese research team

The great David Malakoff has replaced me as Science's International News Editor. He recently left Muskworld but you can contact him here:

David Malakoff, Science’s International News Editor, coordinates coverage of issues and events of importance to the scientific community in nations other than the United States.

David Malakoff

I’m going on a one-year sabbatical. I’ll really miss the wonderful folks at

, but I’m happy to have a chance to recover from the pandemic, reflect, and try some new things in journalism and in life.

So the paper lives on. We have neither the university’s full report or the journal’s investigation, so we can only guess about why they reached a different outcome. science.org/content/articl [end]