2mo ago

Study debunks Covid-19 ‘lab leak’ theory, finds virus didn’t originate in Wuhan

www.scmp.com

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Link to the study https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(25)00353-8
- Article is paywalled, so thanks for posting the actual study. This section seems in direct conflict with the article's title:
  Given the ... clear evidence that the epicenter of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic was at one of only four markets in Wuhan that sold live wildlife from plausible intermediate host mammal species, either the closest-inferred ancestor or the direct ancestor of SARS-CoV-2 likely moved from an area in or around Yunnan province, to Hubei province, via the wild and farmed animal trade.
  In sum, the study doesn't challenge that Covid-19 originated in Wuhan; but instead, explores the genetic backgrounds of the bats with the closest links to Covid-19.
  
  Ah so it was a leak from the biggest bioweapon lab of all, the natural world where things evolve to kill other things.
  I'm not going to comment on the wildlife food trade in China because I don't know that much about it, but just wanted to point out that nearly all of history's worst diseases have something to do with humans wanting to eat meat. And it's happening again with that new bird flu we're completely unprepared for. Might be something to look into if we're concerned about humanity going extinct from a global pandemic ¯(ツ)/¯
  
  If the virus originated in a wide area around Yunnan/Hubei (the latter of which is where Wuhan is) then it seems pretty unlikely that it came from a single source within Wuhan, right? I agree that the headline might be a bit ambiguous, but it's like saying 'It came from all over Texas' vs 'It came specifically from El Paso.' But I haven't read the study myself.

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