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. 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

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

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10.1128/jvi.01240-24

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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

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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.",

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AU - Rasmussen, Angela

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

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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