Corona virus created in lab … Is it true?

There is no dearth of conspiracy theories flying around about the origins of the corona virus pandemic, from reckless speculation in news report to silly nonsense spread by social media; and they are all best left ignored at a time of global panic and paranoia. But first let’s take a closer look at the situation to understand if the coronavirus was really created in lab or not.

Corona virus conspiracy theories & rumors

One in three of Americans think that the Covid-19 or corona virus was created in a laboratory; and 70% of them think the media is covering it very well and it’s just a rumor that coronavirus is created in a lab.

Within the context of the corona virus pandemic, fake news is multiplying, relaying false information on social networks. Young people are particularly affected by this phenomenon.

On the one hand, it is like a complete failure: To think that this virus is interpreted as a bacteriological weapon created in a lab by some. It is hard to hear.

On the other hand, it is a victory because a vast majority of people around the world believe that the virus appeared in a natural way, not created in a lab accidentally or intently.

Was corona virus really created in a lab?

An article in Nature Medicine shows that the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is responsible for COVID-19, could not have been created in a lab. Here’s why.

Rumors have been circulating on the web that the new pandemic virus, Coronavirus, was created in the laboratory. Researchers from the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom refute this thesis. They seriously believe: it’s just a rummer that covid-19 is created in lab.

According to their findings; analysis of the genome sequence of SARS-Cov-2 shows that it was born of natural evolution and it was not created in lab.

How did they find it?

Shortly after the outbreak of the epidemic in China, scientists shared the genome of the virus with the global scientific community. The researchers therefore used this genomic sequence to compare it to that of other corona viruses causing MERS and SARS.

Using extremely accurate research and laboratory equipment, they paid particular attention to the spike protein located on the outer surface of the corona virus. These multi-functional molecular machines are used to grip and penetrate human or animal cells. The virus has probably evolved to recognize and interact effectively with receptors in our on respiratory cells called ACE2.

According to these researchers, it is the result of natural evolution and not the product of genetic engineering. So there’s no way to believe: Corona virus is created in a lab.

“If someone were seeking to engineer a new corona virus as a pathogen; they would have constructed it from the backbone of a virus known to cause illness,” as mentioned in Scripps.

Scientists believe that the basic structure of SARS-CoV-2 or its “skeleton” differs greatly from other known corona viruses in humans. They think it does have similarities to viruses found in animals like bat or pangolin.

The origin of Coronavirus? A Laboratory?

Scientists are still at the very beginning of this quest to answer if coronavirus created in a lab; but the researchers have put forward some hypotheses.

One possibility is that the virus, in a non-pathogenic version, has passed from an animal to humans and then has evolved to its current pathogenic state within the human population. So they deny that corona virus is created in lab.

The other possibility, repeatedly mentioned since January, is more worrying because there is a risk that similar pandemics will occur again in the future: it states that the virus has evolved to its current pathogenic state by natural selection in a non-human host (perhaps a bat) and then made the leap from animals to humans.

This is also the case for the other epidemics. For example, for the 2003 SARS episode, the corona virus went from civets to humans. And also, when the MERS disease started in 2012, it was rather a camel-to-human transmission that caused it.

However, there is no evidence which shows the direct transmission from bats to humans. Some scientists have suggested that an intermediate host was likely involved between bats and humans.

What is it? We don’t know it yet!

Coronavirus created in a lab … Final Answer

The genetic quest to understand the corona virus is important; because unlocking the genetic code of the novel corona virus will help scientists to prevent other diseases. Besides, the novel corona virus pandemic has created a large number of insurmountable challenges that can have irreversible impacts.

As such, scientists, researchers, universities and research institutes are doing their best to find a vaccine for the novel corona virus to minimize these impacts.

It is extremely hard to think positive during the corona virus pandemic, but we should encourage ourselves and other people to revalue the sources of information. We are living in a time of global panic and paranoia; it is highly recommended to verify the authenticity of any information and viral social media messages. So we should ignore all unproved news such as “Coronavirus is created in a lab”.