In November, 2015 lead author Dr. Ralph S. Baric published a scholarly article in Nature Medicine entitled, "A SARS-like cluster of circulating bat coronaviruses shows potential for human emergence."
The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus...and Middle East respiratory syndrome...underscores the threat of cross-species transmission events leading to outbreaks in humans. Here we examine the disease potential of a SARS-like virus, SHC014-CoV, which is currently circulating in Chinese horseshoe bat populations1. Using the SARS-CoV reverse genetics system2, we generated and characterized a chimeric virus expressing the spike of bat coronavirus SHC014 in a mouse-adapted SARS-CoV backbone. The results indicate that [COVID-19] viruses encoding the SHC014 spike in a wild-type backbone can efficiently use multiple orthologs of the SARS receptor human angiotensin converting enzyme II (ACE2), replicate efficiently in primary human airway cells and achieve in vitro titers equivalent to epidemic strains of SARS-CoV.
That is, Dr. Baric and his 14 co-authors created a new "chimeric" (combination of two or more) coronavirus in a lab. They didn't find the new coronavirus in nature, they "generated" one that "expressed" the spike of a bat coronavirus in a mouse backbone. "The results" were extraordinary. Their new creation "can efficiently use" "the SARS receptor human...converting enzyme, "replicate efficiently in...human airway calls" and "achieve...epidemic strains of SARS-CoV."
Isn't that wonderful? But wait, it gets better. Nothing worked against their new creation:
Evaluation of available SARS-based immune-therapeutic and prophylactic modalities revealed poor efficacy; both monoclonal antibody and vaccine approaches failed to neutralize and protect from infection with CoVs using the novel spike protein. On the basis of these findings, we synthetically re-derived an infectious full-length SHC014 recombinant virus and demonstrate robust viral replication both in vitro and in vivo.
Bravo! You gents and lady-gents did it! A new coronavirus that we can't fight!
Our work suggests a potential risk of SARS-CoV re-emergence from viruses currently circulating in bat populations.
Well, now hold on a second there. There's a "risk" to humans only if the bat viruses get into your hands! Don't be modest, this was not Mother Nature, this was YOU "synthetically" "generating" a Doomsday virus in your lab! Congratulations!
