You have commented 358 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
-Lurid Crime Tales-
Artifacts of HIV-1 discovered by India in Corona Virus
2020-02-01
[Twitter-Wretchard]
WOW! It's beginning to look like a product of a bio-weapons-lab

See this related article:


We are currently witnessing a major epidemic caused by the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). The evolution of 2019-nCoV remains elusive. We found 4 insertions in the spike glycoprotein (S) which are unique to the 2019-nCoV and are not present in other coronaviruses.

Importantly, amino acid residues in all the 4 inserts have identity or similarity to those in the HIV1 gp120 or HIV-1 Gag. Interestingly, despite the inserts being discontinuous on the primary amino acid sequence, 3D-modelling of the 2019-nCoV suggests ...

that they converge to constitute the receptor binding site. The finding of 4 unique inserts in the 2019-nCoV, all of which have identity /similarity to amino acid residues in key structural proteins of HIV-1 is unlikely to be fortuitous in nature.

We shouldn't jump to conclusions, but it's interesting.

Posted by:3dc

#20  ...er.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2020-02-01 18:44  

#19  Also, keep in mind that this could all be an Underpants Gnome sort of plan.

"Step 1. Produce virus that's out of a John Ringo novel."
[...]
"Step 3: Profit!"

I get the feeling that totalitarian societies are big on Underpants Gnome sort of plans.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain   2020-02-01 15:30  

#18  ^the ---> they
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2020-02-01 14:57  

#17  It's about the mandarinate-over-there, which is only smart compared to the mandarins-over-here

The first rule of survival in totalitarian system "remember, the kill the bearers of bad news.".
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2020-02-01 14:55  

#16  a) As I said, either way, Winnie the Flu is stupid.

b) There's rabies, which is allegedly responsible for 7/10 human rabies cases in the US.

c) Which would also be a scary engineered-bioweapon scenario.

d) Which would also provide incentive for a bioweapons lab to 'practice' on making bat viruses more transmissible with humans.

The point I wasn't trying to make wasn't about the viruses. It's about the mandarinate-over-there, which is only smart compared to the mandarins-over-here, not the actual ancient mandarins.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain   2020-02-01 14:01  

#15  #11 viruses don't jump from bats to humans
Posted by: g(r)omgoru PB   2020-02-01 13:09  

#14  #13 BP - totally off topic, but CONGRATULATIONS on achieving BREXIT! :-D
Posted by: Barbara   2020-02-01 12:57  

#13  If there is .001 chance it could be a bio-accident, it needs looking into.

Even if someone were investigating, think the results would become public?
Maybe the UN would condemn the practice.
Posted by: Skidmark   2020-02-01 12:19  

#12  Did they sequence the "beer"?
Posted by: Bright Pebbles   2020-02-01 11:56  

#11  If there is .001 chance it could be a bio-accident, it needs looking into.

I wonder if there is any sniffling and sneezing in those Chinese - Mooslim re-education camps.
Posted by: Besoeker   2020-02-01 11:55  

#10  Gr(o)m, I missed your comment yesterday until today.

The thing is, it's not an either/or type of situation.

The virus could be a naturally transmitted one from bats and the Authorities (both in here and China) are incompetent to stop it.

OR

The virus could be a genetically engineered bioweapon AND the Authorities both in China and in the West are contemptuously lacking in the competence to deal with it.

There's simply bonus contempt for the think-they're-as-smart-as-medieval-mandarins people who built a weapon they couldn't manage.

As they say over at Ace's, Embrace The Healing Power of 'And'.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain   2020-02-01 11:50  

#9  Colonel Surgei Skripel to the white courtesy phone please. Colonel Skripel.
Posted by: Besoeker   2020-02-01 10:06  

#8  Further evidence to support the claim this man made and the Chinese have been doing biological weapons development in Wuhan and this is an unintentional release?
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom    2020-02-01 10:01  

#7  ðŸ˜€ for ZF at #3 !
Posted by: Dron66046   2020-02-01 09:28  

#6  I'm surprised the Indian study didn't find the disease an artifact of ancient Rakshasa DNA in the Orientals.
Posted by: Dron66046   2020-02-01 09:26  

#5  Debunked. Used extremely short sequences that will match many viruses just by chance.
Posted by: Huperesing Glains9539   2020-02-01 08:17  

#4  ^😂
Posted by: g(r)omgoru PB   2020-02-01 06:45  

#3  From snakes, with the greatest of ease,
To the bat on his flying trapeze,
Whence, in only three links
It descends to the... [winks]
Such a naturally agile disease!
Posted by: Sheba Stalin6601   2020-02-01 06:25  

#2  Bingo!
Posted by: g(r)omgoru PB   2020-02-01 02:23  

#1  Yeah, and I have Neanderthal DNA.
When you only have concrete for building blocks, you use concrete blocks.
Posted by: Skidmark   2020-02-01 01:16  

00:00