A team of scientists say it is “beyond reasonable doubt” the Covid pandemic started with infected animals sold at a market, rather than a laboratory leak.

They were analysing hundreds of samples collected from Wuhan, China, in January 2020.

The results identify a shortlist of animals – including racoon dogs, civets and bamboo rats – as potential sources of the pandemic.

Despite even highlighting one market stall as a hotspot of both animals and coronavirus, the study cannot provide definitive proof.

The samples were collected by Chinese officials in the early stages of Covid and are one of the most scientifically valuable sources of information on the origins of the pandemic.

Their analysis was published last year and the raw data made available to other scientists. Now a team in the US and France says they have performed even more advanced genetic analyses to peer deeper into Covid’s early days.

  • Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world
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    8 hours ago

    Not bioweapons. Covid isn’t dangerous enough.

    The prime conspiracy theory target is Anthony Fauci because some EcoHealth Alliance / NIH coronaviruses bat funding went to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

    But you don’t need to subscribe to the Fauci Supervillan theory to suspect an accidental lab leak. China has already had 3 (2004, 2016, 2020) in this list. Pointing this out is not sino bashing (look at the number of US incidents). Accidental lab leaks happen all too regularly.

    • Duamerthrax@lemmy.world
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      1 hour ago

      Back to an earlier point you made, how is it relevant that it was an accidental lab leak anymore? It’s China, they’ve either made better safe guards against possible break outs or made superficial changes for appearances. The international community can’t punish them for an accident that also hurt themselves. Hell, we can’t seem to keep their coast guard from ramming other ships.