[jacquesm]

Indeed. So the only reasonable conclusion so far is that we haven't found the reservoir host yet. This may take a while and it may even never happen. If and when we do we will finally be able to make another step in this whole saga.

[MrOwnPut]

You ignored this part of my statement:

> If there was GoF being done on the sample (adding of the spike protein to infect humans), that could be the remaining percentage.

I do not believe one bit the only "reasonable conclusion" is it has to be from nature.

Between the lab sample, the outbreak area, the GoF program being run, the timing, history of lab leaks, and the reaction, a lab leak is very reasonable...

[lcnPylGDnU4H9OF]

I think there may have been a slight misunderstanding here (I'm not particularly familiar with this topic so I may have some concepts mistaken):

> The lab-leak scenario presumes zoonotic jump, too. Just rather than from something in the wild, it's from humanized (ACE2-transgenic) mice

> So the only reasonable conclusion so far is that we haven't found the reservoir host yet.

> I do not believe one bit the only "reasonable conclusion" is it has to be from nature.

If it's discovered that the reservoir host was a mouse in a lab at WIV then "we will finally be able to make another step in this whole saga" in the same way as it being discovered as a wild host. It might be worth reading their comment again.

(Again, I'm not deeply familiar with this topic and may be totally off base; gluing together my personal understanding of the meanings of these words has me arriving at this conclusion. I'm also attempting to clarify someone else's statements so take another grain of salt for that.)

[MrOwnPut]

Zoonotic would mean it was a natural occurrence. The GoF program of adding the spike protein to attach to the ACE2 receptor and putting it in a mouse would NOT be zoonotic, but lab made. It's a lab mouse. Not a jump, but a deliberate placement in a lab.

Obviously the implications matter whether it occurred in nature or deliberately by man. If it was the latter, then the program that was supposed to prepare against the potential of a natural virus actually made something that may never have happened, and then went on to kill millions.

[lcnPylGDnU4H9OF]

> putting it in a mouse would NOT be zoonotic

It sounds like the claim is that it’s “from humanized (ACE2-transgenic) mice“. I assume “humanized” is referring to the genome or something else about the genetics but these organisms still shouldn’t be considered humans (or at least this opinion seems reasonable; if it’s factually wrong I’m open to being corrected).

But if it’s “from” non-human “to” human, isn’t that a zoonotic jump, or is there some mistake in this understanding?

[jacquesm]

Zoonotic jumps can still happen in a lab. They are simply jumps from one species to another.

[lcnPylGDnU4H9OF]

Thanks for the explanations. Admittedly, my introduction to the term “zoonotic” was from playing Plague Inc: Evolved (if one is not familiar: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plague_Inc:_Evolved) so you might see where I’m coming from. I do roughly understand this to be the meaning.

[jacquesm]

Interesting. I noticed that one of my kids picked up a lot about how electricity works as well as simple and/or/not/nand gates. But that doesn't mean he knows anything about electricity, merely how the game logic presents it, which is close but not quite how it really works. That doesn't mean he knows nothing either, but it does mean that such knowledge should always be verified with proper sources to ensure you're not accidentally learning something isn't quite true.

[MrOwnPut]

Sure, but in this case if it were a zoonotic jump in the lab it would be really really easy for them to have found the animal now wouldn't it?

[jacquesm]

You'd think so. You can draw your own conclusions from there.