First biolab in South America for studying world’s deadliest viruses is set to open
First biolab in South America for studying world’s deadliest viruses is set to open
Construction is underway for the maximum-security Brazilian facility, which will face cost and regulatory hurdles.Rodrigues, Meghie
like this
just_another_person
in reply to obbeel • • •Tylerdurdon
in reply to obbeel • • •RangerJosie
in reply to Tylerdurdon • • •ShinkanTrain
in reply to obbeel • • •circuscritic
in reply to ShinkanTrain • • •I have no idea how this lab will operate, but these types of labs are often used by government agencies whose own countries have prohibited certain types of extremely dangerous and risky research.
There's actually a lot of good circumstantial evidence that the really big Ebola outbreak some years ago likely originated from a lab in neighboring country, that was being used by US government funded scientists, doing work that they were not legally allowed to do on US soil.
It's late and I'm tired so I am not going to dig up the reporting on that, but there has been some great coverage on the topic in the few years that it's worth reading up on.
Whether or not any of that has any relevance to this specific laboratory, or how they'll operate, I have no idea. Just pointing out that whatever upside can be gained by this type of research, is also accompanied by serious risks.
explore_broaden
in reply to circuscritic • • •circuscritic
in reply to explore_broaden • • •independentsciencenews.org/hea…
jacobin.com/2016/07/ebola-west…
Did West Africa's Ebola Outbreak of 2014 Have a Lab Origin? - Independent Science News | Food, Health and Agriculture Bioscience News
Jonathan Latham (Independent Science News)BreadOven
in reply to circuscritic • • •circuscritic
in reply to BreadOven • • •I've read the reporting, looked into the journalists and researchers behind it, and find them credible.
If you don't, it doesn't affect me any.
BreadOven
in reply to circuscritic • • •circuscritic
in reply to BreadOven • • •Those are both pretty through examples of indepth investigative reporting, by credentialed and experienced independent journalists and researchers. There's plenty of threads to pull on once you start reading into it.
It's also been covered by Ryan Grim, former DC Beauru Chief for The Intercept. I believe he has recorded interviews up with either researchers from those articles, or some other journalists specializing in covering scientific and medical fields, I forget which.
BreadOven
in reply to circuscritic • • •explore_broaden
in reply to BreadOven • • •BreadOven
in reply to explore_broaden • • •circuscritic
in reply to explore_broaden • • •They aren't conspiracy theories, at least, not according to the US Government and Biden's DoE:
nytimes.com/2023/02/26/us/poli…
Circumstantial evidence, not conclusive either way, but clearly the Biden administration feels the evidence is weighted slightly more on the side you just called a conspiracy theory.
Which again, is all they allege for ebola, but unlike the co-author of that first paper I linked, I don't have a PhD in virology, so what do I know.
explore_broaden
in reply to circuscritic • • •Someone else posted that link as well, see my response: midwest.social/comment/1185376…
Having a PhD doesn’t automatically make someone a reliable source, and the site it is published on isn’t exactly a respected journal.
explore_broaden
2024-08-22 21:16:19
explore_broaden
in reply to circuscritic • • •circuscritic
in reply to explore_broaden • • •Is the Biden administration lead by conspiracy theorists as well?
Again, inclusive and circumstantial, but pretty far removed from crackpot conspiracy theories and tinfoil hats.
Direct quote from that NYT article I linked:
explore_broaden
in reply to circuscritic • • •Other direct quote:
An article from a well-respected journal: thelancet.com/journals/lanmic/…
It really seems like the evidence points towards natural origins. And the article you linked doesn’t actually have the evidence, it only waves toward the existence of classified intelligence.
FauxPseudo
in reply to obbeel • • •Can't wait for people to blame it for the next outbreak.
"It came from the same area as the lab!"
"Where would you put a lab designed to look for these kinds of things?"
"U so dumb."
qaz
in reply to FauxPseudo • • •Wahots
in reply to obbeel • • •Good, we need more BSL4 labs. The more we cut down forests and push into remote areas where bacteria, viruses, and fungi have always been endemic, the more we risk a catastrophic spillover event that will be magnified by rapid, worldwide flights and climate change making animals and diseases more present around humans. Fungi, for example, are thriving in warmer and wetter winters. We must be hypervigilant about new and evolving diseases, especially ones that might not yet have vaccines developed for them.
These labs will keep churning out research even in the event of catastrophic calamity in areas were most of our BSL4 labs reside (Europe, and North America).
CeruleanRuin
in reply to Wahots • • •