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

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.

published proceedings

  • J Virol

author list (cited authors)

  • Alwine, J., Goodrum, F., Banfield, B., Bloom, D., Britt, W. J., Broadbent, A. J., ... Yurochko, A.

complete list of authors

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

editor list (cited editors)

  • Walsh, D.

publication date

  • August 2024