Boston University researchers claim to have developed new, more lethal COVID strain in lab

Oompa Loompa · Oct 18, 2022

Researchers at Boston University say they have developed a new COVID strain that has an 80% kill rate following a series of similar experiments first thought to have started the global pandemic that began in China.

The variant, a combination of Omicron and the original virus in Wuhan, killed 80% of the mice infected with it, the university said. When mice were only exposed to Omicron, they experienced mild symptoms.

The research was conducted by a team of scientists from Florida and Boston at the school's National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories.

They extracted the spike protein from Omicron and attached it with the strain first detected at the onset of the pandemic that began in Wuhan, China. They then documented how the mice reacted to the hybrid strain.

"In…mice, while Omicron causes mild, non-fatal infection, the Omicron S-carrying virus inflicts severe disease with a mortality rate of 80 percent," they wrote in a research paper.

The new strain has five times more infectious virus particles than the Omicron variant, researchers said.

Is this not gain of function research? Are they insane? Should people be imprisoned for such irresponsible behavior? If you follow the science, it will lead you to destruction.

2PhiloVoid · Oct 18, 2022

Oompa Loompa said:
Boston University researchers claim to have developed new, more lethal COVID strain in lab

Is this not gain of function research? Are they insane? Should people be imprisoned for such irresponsible behavior? If you follow the science, it will lead you to destruction.

Ew Wee, Wow!!! Now, THAT'S progress and scientific work to be proud of...

Of course, I'm jesting!!!

HTacianas · Oct 18, 2022

Oompa Loompa said:
Boston University researchers claim to have developed new, more lethal COVID strain in lab

Is this not gain of function research? Are they insane? Should people be imprisoned for such irresponsible behavior? If you follow the science, it will lead you to destruction.

I think that's what they were doing in Wuhan and the thing got loose. Interesting that a never heard of before virus just happened to pop up down the road from the Chinese virus lab. If some killer strain of a disease just happed to break out at a Starbucks across the street from the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention I'd be awful suspicious of it.

wing2000 · Oct 18, 2022

Fox News has reached out to the university.

...so they can write more alarming stories for their audience.

Oompa Loompa · Oct 18, 2022

2PhiloVoid said:
Ew Wee, Wow!!! Now, THAT'S progress and scientific work to be proud of...

Of course, I'm jesting!!!

Insert "nervous laugh" emoji.

Oompa Loompa · Oct 18, 2022

wing2000 said:
Fox News has reached out to the university.

...so they can write more alarming stories for their audience.

Are you not alarmed? Or has the years of COVID fear mongering left you numb?

durangodawood · Oct 18, 2022

HTacianas said:
I think that's what they were doing in Wuhan and the thing got loose. Interesting that a never heard of before virus just happened to pop up down the road from the Chinese virus lab. If some killer strain of a disease just happed to break out at a Starbucks across the street from the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention I'd be awful suspicious of it.

I would have agreed if this was before Starbucks diversified into "wet market" items. You should try their fresh muskrat milk latte.

wing2000 · Oct 18, 2022

Oompa Loompa said:
Are you not alarmed? Or has the years of COVID fear mongering left you numb?

I am not alarmed. I would like to learn more regarding the research.

Blade · Oct 18, 2022

HAHA yeah that's not scary

Oompa Loompa · Oct 18, 2022

wing2000 said:
I am not alarmed. I would like to learn more regarding the research.

Yes, imagine how much scientific progress could be made if it were not for those "ethics" and those meddling kids.

PloverWing · Oct 18, 2022

Here's an article from Boston University: NEIDL Researchers Refute UK Article about COVID Strain . The article begins:

Boston University is refuting a series of misleading claims about research at the University’s National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL). The reports, which first appeared on Monday in the United Kingdom’s Daily Mail, claimed researchers at the lab had “created a new deadly COVID strain.” In a statement Monday afternoon, BU called the reporting, which was picked up by other outlets, including Fox News, “false and inaccurate,” and said, “this research made the virus replicate less dangerous.”

The article goes on to describe the research in more detail.

durangodawood · Oct 18, 2022

Oompa Loompa said:
Boston University researchers claim to have developed new, more lethal COVID strain in lab

Is this not gain of function research? Are they insane? Should people be imprisoned for such irresponsible behavior? If you follow the science, it will lead you to destruction.

That article is terrible.

I hoped to find some explanation of the rationale behind this research. Nothing.

I also expect the real facts to downgrade the level of alarm justified. But thats not fun at all so no one will pay attention.

wing2000 · Oct 18, 2022

PloverWing said:
Here's an article from Boston University: NEIDL Researchers Refute UK Article about COVID Strain . The article begins:

The article goes on to describe the research in more detail.

The study set out to examine the spike proteins on the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant (BA.1). Researchers were interested in comparing the variant with the original virus strain, known as the Washington strain. They wanted to find out if the virus was truly less virulent, says Corley, “simply because it wasn’t infecting the same cells as the initial strain.” They were “interested in what part of the virus dictates how serious of a disease a person will get.”

But Corley says the news reports pulled one line from the paper’s abstract out of context, with the Daily Mail suggesting in its headline that the researchers had created a “deadly Covid strain with an 80 percent kill rate.” The newspaper went on to make a series of other misleading claims, including that the study was “gain of function research,” alleging researchers set out to make a more deadly virus.

wing2000 · Oct 18, 2022

Oompa Loompa said:
Yes, imagine how much scientific progress could be made if it were not for those "ethics" and those meddling kids.

Imagine if you stopped taking the Fox New's bait?

FireDragon76 · Oct 18, 2022

HTacianas said:
I think that's what they were doing in Wuhan and the thing got loose. Interesting that a never heard of before virus just happened to pop up down the road from the Chinese virus lab. If some killer strain of a disease just happed to break out at a Starbucks across the street from the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention I'd be awful suspicious of it.

The reason there's a virus lab in Wuhan is because there's so many local bat caves from which to collect samples, and it's believed that's where the virus came from (a bat), not from a lab.

cow451 · Oct 18, 2022

FireDragon76 said:
The reason there's a virus lab in Wuhan is because there's so many local bat caves from which to collect samples, and it's believed that's where the virus came from (a bat), not from a lab.

Here's one bat cave

Oompa Loompa · Oct 18, 2022

wing2000 said:
The study set out to examine the spike proteins on the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant (BA.1). Researchers were interested in comparing the variant with the original virus strain, known as the Washington strain. They wanted to find out if the virus was truly less virulent, says Corley, “simply because it wasn’t infecting the same cells as the initial strain.” They were “interested in what part of the virus dictates how serious of a disease a person will get.”

But Corley says the news reports pulled one line from the paper’s abstract out of context, with the Daily Mail suggesting in its headline that the researchers had created a “deadly Covid strain with an 80 percent kill rate.” The newspaper went on to make a series of other misleading claims, including that the study was “gain of function research,” alleging researchers set out to make a more deadly virus.

Well that's good news.

expos4ever · Oct 18, 2022

PloverWing said:
Here's an article from Boston University: NEIDL Researchers Refute UK Article about COVID Strain . The article begins:...

Fox et al mislead us? Perish the thought!

RocksInMyHead · Oct 18, 2022

Oompa Loompa said:
Well that's good news.

Might I suggest editing your OP to reflect this clarification?

Brihaha · Oct 18, 2022

cow451 said:
Here's one bat cave

Holy SARS Batman, did you see the size of that Joker's spike protein?

Boston University researchers claim to have developed new, more lethal COVID strain in lab

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