The harms of promoting the lab leak hypothesis for SARS-CoV-2 origins without evidence

James Alwine; Felicia Goodrum; Bruce Banfield; David Bloom; William J. Britt; Andrew J. Broadbent; Samuel K. Campos; Arturo Casadevall; Gary C. Chan; Anna R. Cliffe; Terence Dermody; Paul Duprex; Lynn W. Enquist; Klaus Frueh; Adam P. Geballe; Marta Gaglia; Stephen Goldstein; Alexander L. Greninger; Gigi Kwick Gronvall; Jae U. Jung; Jeremy P. Kamil; Seema Lakdawala; Shan Lu Liu; Micah Luftig; John P. Moore; Anne Moscona; Benjamin W. Neuman; Janko Nikolich; Christine O'Connor; Andrew Pekosz; Sallie Permar; Julie Pfeiffer; John Purdy; Angela Rasmussen; Bert Semler; Gregory A. Smith; David A. Stein; Koenraad Van Doorslaer; Sandra K. Weller; Sean P.J. Whelan; Andrew Yurochko

doi:10.1128/jvi.01240-24

The harms of promoting the lab leak hypothesis for SARS-CoV-2 origins without evidence

James Alwine, Felicia Goodrum, Bruce Banfield, David Bloom, William J. Britt, Andrew J. Broadbent, Samuel K. Campos, Arturo Casadevall, Gary C. Chan, Anna R. Cliffe, Terence Dermody, Paul Duprex, Lynn W. Enquist, Klaus Frueh, Adam P. Geballe, Marta Gaglia, Stephen Goldstein, Alexander L. Greninger, Gigi Kwick Gronvall, Jae U. JungJeremy P. Kamil, Seema Lakdawala, Shan Lu Liu, Micah Luftig, John P. Moore, Anne Moscona, Benjamin W. Neuman, Janko Nikolich, Christine O'Connor, Andrew Pekosz, Sallie Permar, Julie Pfeiffer, John Purdy, Angela Rasmussen, Bert Semler, Gregory A. Smith, David A. Stein, Koenraad Van Doorslaer, Sandra K. Weller, Sean P.J. Whelan, Andrew Yurochko

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Science is humanity’s best insurance against threats from nature, but it is a fragile enterprise that must be nourished and protected. The preponderance of scientific evidence indicates a natural origin for SARS-CoV-2. Yet, the theory that SARS-CoV-2 was engineered in and escaped from a lab dominates media attention, even in the absence of strong evidence. We discuss how the resulting anti-science movement puts the research community, scientific research, and pandemic preparedness at risk.

Original language	English (US)
Journal	Journal of virology
Volume	98
Issue number	9
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1128/jvi.01240-24
State	Published - Sep 2024

Keywords

COVID-19
SARS-CoV-2
anti-science
lab leak
origin
pandemic
science advocacy
science policy
spillover
zoonosis

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Microbiology
Immunology
Insect Science
Virology

Access to Document

10.1128/jvi.01240-24

Cite this

Alwine, J., Goodrum, F., Banfield, B., Bloom, D., Britt, W. J., Broadbent, A. J., Campos, S. K., Casadevall, A., Chan, G. C., Cliffe, A. R., Dermody, T., Duprex, P., Enquist, L. W., Frueh, K., Geballe, A. P., Gaglia, M., Goldstein, S., Greninger, A. L., Gronvall, G. K., ... Yurochko, A. (2024). The harms of promoting the lab leak hypothesis for SARS-CoV-2 origins without evidence. Journal of virology, 98(9). https://doi.org/10.1128/jvi.01240-24

Alwine, J, Goodrum, F, Banfield, B, Bloom, D, Britt, WJ, Broadbent, AJ, Campos, SK, Casadevall, A, Chan, GC, Cliffe, AR, Dermody, T, Duprex, P, Enquist, LW, Frueh, K, Geballe, AP, Gaglia, M, Goldstein, S, Greninger, AL, Gronvall, GK, Jung, JU, Kamil, JP, Lakdawala, S, Liu, SL, Luftig, M, Moore, JP, Moscona, A, Neuman, BW, Nikolich, J, O'Connor, C, Pekosz, A, Permar, S, Pfeiffer, J, Purdy, J, Rasmussen, A, Semler, B, Smith, GA, Stein, DA, Van Doorslaer, K, Weller, SK, Whelan, SPJ & Yurochko, A 2024, 'The harms of promoting the lab leak hypothesis for SARS-CoV-2 origins without evidence', Journal of virology, vol. 98, no. 9. https://doi.org/10.1128/jvi.01240-24

@article{2bbe96125d7540cea2e112f5b43eeb6e,

title = "The harms of promoting the lab leak hypothesis for SARS-CoV-2 origins without evidence",

abstract = "Science is humanity{\textquoteright}s best insurance against threats from nature, but it is a fragile enterprise that must be nourished and protected. The preponderance of scientific evidence indicates a natural origin for SARS-CoV-2. Yet, the theory that SARS-CoV-2 was engineered in and escaped from a lab dominates media attention, even in the absence of strong evidence. We discuss how the resulting anti-science movement puts the research community, scientific research, and pandemic preparedness at risk.",

keywords = "COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, anti-science, lab leak, origin, pandemic, science advocacy, science policy, spillover, zoonosis",

author = "James Alwine and Felicia Goodrum and Bruce Banfield and David Bloom and Britt, \{William J.\} and Broadbent, \{Andrew J.\} and Campos, \{Samuel K.\} and Arturo Casadevall and Chan, \{Gary C.\} and Cliffe, \{Anna R.\} and Terence Dermody and Paul Duprex and Enquist, \{Lynn W.\} and Klaus Frueh and Geballe, \{Adam P.\} and Marta Gaglia and Stephen Goldstein and Greninger, \{Alexander L.\} and Gronvall, \{Gigi Kwick\} and Jung, \{Jae U.\} and Kamil, \{Jeremy P.\} and Seema Lakdawala and Liu, \{Shan Lu\} and Micah Luftig and Moore, \{John P.\} and Anne Moscona and Neuman, \{Benjamin W.\} and Janko Nikolich and Christine O'Connor and Andrew Pekosz and Sallie Permar and Julie Pfeiffer and John Purdy and Angela Rasmussen and Bert Semler and Smith, \{Gregory A.\} and Stein, \{David A.\} and \{Van Doorslaer\}, Koenraad and Weller, \{Sandra K.\} and Whelan, \{Sean P.J.\} and Andrew Yurochko",

year = "2024",

month = sep,

doi = "10.1128/jvi.01240-24",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "98",

journal = "Journal of virology",

issn = "0022-538X",

publisher = "American Society for Microbiology",

number = "9",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - The harms of promoting the lab leak hypothesis for SARS-CoV-2 origins without evidence

AU - Alwine, James

AU - Goodrum, Felicia

AU - Banfield, Bruce

AU - Bloom, David

AU - Britt, William J.

AU - Broadbent, Andrew J.

AU - Campos, Samuel K.

AU - Casadevall, Arturo

AU - Chan, Gary C.

AU - Cliffe, Anna R.

AU - Dermody, Terence

AU - Duprex, Paul

AU - Enquist, Lynn W.

AU - Frueh, Klaus

AU - Geballe, Adam P.

AU - Gaglia, Marta

AU - Goldstein, Stephen

AU - Greninger, Alexander L.

AU - Gronvall, Gigi Kwick

AU - Jung, Jae U.

AU - Kamil, Jeremy P.

AU - Lakdawala, Seema

AU - Liu, Shan Lu

AU - Luftig, Micah

AU - Moore, John P.

AU - Moscona, Anne

AU - Neuman, Benjamin W.

AU - Nikolich, Janko

AU - O'Connor, Christine

AU - Pekosz, Andrew

AU - Permar, Sallie

AU - Pfeiffer, Julie

AU - Purdy, John

AU - Rasmussen, Angela

AU - Semler, Bert

AU - Smith, Gregory A.

AU - Stein, David A.

AU - Van Doorslaer, Koenraad

AU - Weller, Sandra K.

AU - Whelan, Sean P.J.

AU - Yurochko, Andrew

PY - 2024/9

Y1 - 2024/9

N2 - Science is humanity’s best insurance against threats from nature, but it is a fragile enterprise that must be nourished and protected. The preponderance of scientific evidence indicates a natural origin for SARS-CoV-2. Yet, the theory that SARS-CoV-2 was engineered in and escaped from a lab dominates media attention, even in the absence of strong evidence. We discuss how the resulting anti-science movement puts the research community, scientific research, and pandemic preparedness at risk.

AB - Science is humanity’s best insurance against threats from nature, but it is a fragile enterprise that must be nourished and protected. The preponderance of scientific evidence indicates a natural origin for SARS-CoV-2. Yet, the theory that SARS-CoV-2 was engineered in and escaped from a lab dominates media attention, even in the absence of strong evidence. We discuss how the resulting anti-science movement puts the research community, scientific research, and pandemic preparedness at risk.

KW - COVID-19

KW - SARS-CoV-2

KW - anti-science

KW - lab leak

KW - origin

KW - pandemic

KW - science advocacy

KW - science policy

KW - spillover

KW - zoonosis

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85204417219

UR - https://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85204417219&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1128/jvi.01240-24

DO - 10.1128/jvi.01240-24

M3 - Review article

C2 - 39087765

AN - SCOPUS:85204417219

SN - 0022-538X

VL - 98

JO - Journal of virology

JF - Journal of virology

IS - 9

ER -

The harms of promoting the lab leak hypothesis for SARS-CoV-2 origins without evidence

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this