[ExI] Stranger than fiction

[John Clark]

On Wed, Apr 29, 2020 at 3:44 AM The Avantguardian via extropy-chat <
extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:

> *This caused the NIAID, lead by Anthony Fauci, to give the virus lab in
> Wuhan China a $3.7 million grant to perform gain-of-function research in
> bat-borne coranaviruses because our labs were not secure enough?*


That sentence may end in a question mark but it is not a question.


> *>What peaceful purpose could a gain-of-function mutation in the SARS
> virus possibly serve?*

http://www.phe.gov/s3/dualuse/Documents/gain-of-function.pdf


I would have thought you could have guessed that if one small mutation can
turn a mild virus into a world killer (think 1918 flu) then that fact would
be good to know, because then we can be prepared and start developing a
vaccine for it. Like it or not it's probably only a matter of time before
that mutation does happen. But if you couldn't guess the answer to your
question the answer is in the first sentence of the very article you
recommended:

"*Gain-of-function studies, or research that improves the ability of a
pathogen to cause disease, help define the fundamental nature of
human-pathogen interactions, thereby enabling assessment of the pandemic
potential of emerging infectious agents, informing public health and
preparedness efforts, and furthering medical countermeasure development*."

As for the other article you recommend:

https://asiatimes.com/2020/04/why-us-outsourced-bat-virus-research-to-wuhan/?fbclid=IwAR05XIyKjGNhcJO6RgdflBITizA_znxY05EA5ElaP4kSUm6T2sNFYI8X-U8

I became a little suspicious of the article when it cited such world
renowned virus experts as Fox News Lou Dobbs, and when it stated that
Donald Trump was investigating the matter, the same very stable genius who
investigated Barack Obama's birth certificate for years. I stopped reading
when I came to this:

*"in October 2014, because of public health concerns, the US government
banned all federal funding on efforts to weaponize three viruses –
influenza, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and severe acute
respiratory syndrome (SARS)."*

The US government hasn't authorized funds to weaponize any virus, or any
bacteria either, since Nixon banned all offensive bioweapons research in
1969.

> "History is a set of lies agreed upon." - Napoleon Bonaparte
>

Perhaps so, but the Extropian List should at least try to counteract that
tendency not intensify it.

John K Clark
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