Can Science Help Resolve the Controversy on the Origins of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic?

ABSTRACT The origins of the calamitous SARS-CoV-2 pandemic are now the subject of vigorous discussion and debate between two competing hypotheses for how it entered the human population: (i) direct infection from a feral source, likely a bat and possibly with an intermediate mammalian host, and (ii)...

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Autores principales:	Arturo Casadevall, Susan R. Weiss, Michael J. Imperiale
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	American Society for Microbiology 2021
Materias:	COVID SARS SARS-CoV-2 Microbiology QR1-502
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/5bbe5bee6401482d9b73ce52af248414
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:5bbe5bee6401482d9b73ce52af2484142021-11-10T18:37:52ZCan Science Help Resolve the Controversy on the Origins of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic?10.1128/mBio.01948-212150-7511https://doaj.org/article/5bbe5bee6401482d9b73ce52af2484142021-08-01T00:00:00Zhttps://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mBio.01948-21https://doaj.org/toc/2150-7511ABSTRACT The origins of the calamitous SARS-CoV-2 pandemic are now the subject of vigorous discussion and debate between two competing hypotheses for how it entered the human population: (i) direct infection from a feral source, likely a bat and possibly with an intermediate mammalian host, and (ii) a lab accident whereby bat isolates infected a researcher, who then passed it to others. Here, we ask whether the tools of science can help resolve the origins question and conclude that while such studies can provide important information, these are unlikely to provide a definitive answer. Currently available data combined with historical precedent from other outbreaks and viewed through the prism of Occam’s razor favor the feral source hypothesis, but science can provide only probabilities, not certainty.Arturo CasadevallSusan R. WeissMichael J. ImperialeAmerican Society for MicrobiologyarticleCOVIDSARSSARS-CoV-2MicrobiologyQR1-502ENmBio, Vol 12, Iss 4 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	COVID SARS SARS-CoV-2 Microbiology QR1-502
spellingShingle	COVID SARS SARS-CoV-2 Microbiology QR1-502 Arturo Casadevall Susan R. Weiss Michael J. Imperiale Can Science Help Resolve the Controversy on the Origins of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic?
description	ABSTRACT The origins of the calamitous SARS-CoV-2 pandemic are now the subject of vigorous discussion and debate between two competing hypotheses for how it entered the human population: (i) direct infection from a feral source, likely a bat and possibly with an intermediate mammalian host, and (ii) a lab accident whereby bat isolates infected a researcher, who then passed it to others. Here, we ask whether the tools of science can help resolve the origins question and conclude that while such studies can provide important information, these are unlikely to provide a definitive answer. Currently available data combined with historical precedent from other outbreaks and viewed through the prism of Occam’s razor favor the feral source hypothesis, but science can provide only probabilities, not certainty.
format	article
author	Arturo Casadevall Susan R. Weiss Michael J. Imperiale
author_facet	Arturo Casadevall Susan R. Weiss Michael J. Imperiale
author_sort	Arturo Casadevall
title	Can Science Help Resolve the Controversy on the Origins of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic?
title_short	Can Science Help Resolve the Controversy on the Origins of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic?
title_full	Can Science Help Resolve the Controversy on the Origins of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic?
title_fullStr	Can Science Help Resolve the Controversy on the Origins of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic?
title_full_unstemmed	Can Science Help Resolve the Controversy on the Origins of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic?
title_sort	can science help resolve the controversy on the origins of the sars-cov-2 pandemic?
publisher	American Society for Microbiology
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/5bbe5bee6401482d9b73ce52af248414
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Can Science Help Resolve the Controversy on the Origins of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic?

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