Author | Alina Chan and Matt Ridley |
---|---|
Published | November 16, 2021 |
Publisher | HarperCollins |
ISBN | 978-0-00-848749-2 |
Viral: The Search for the Origin of COVID-19 is a 2021 book by Canadian molecular biologist Alina Chan and British science writer Matt Ridley. The authors describe ongoing investigations into the origin of COVID-19. An updated version was published in June 2022. [1]
The book has received mixed reviews. [2] [3] [4] The Wall Street Journal's reviewer said the book has compiled "perhaps the most comprehensive case for the lab-leak theory currently available". [5] Columnist Michael Hiltzik wrote in the Los Angeles Times that the authors "place[d] a conspiracy theory between hardcovers to masquerade as sober scientific inquiry." [6] A review in The Times described it as concluding that the lab-leak hypothesis is "highly possible" rather than "definitely true". [7] Writing in The Guardian, medical journalist Mark Honigsbaum considered the book's main argument to be unconvincing, and some of Chan and Ridley's descriptions to be "highly misleading". [8] Author Steven Poole writing for the Daily Telegraph was unconvinced by the central thesis although he did support the authors in their plea to discontinue gain of function research. [3]
Chan's critics have multiplied – as have her supporters – with the publication of Viral ... The book has invoked mixed reactions.
Viral ... pretends to be agnostic between the two while pimping the lab-leak scenario for all it's worth... This book shows well how coronaviruses spill over naturally between species all the time... One can agree ... with the book's passionate argument for closer regulation of ... 'gain-of-function research'.
The book makes the case for both possibilities: natural transfer of the virus from bats to mammals and then to humans, or from some sort of lab accident at the Wuhan Institute of Virology that spread to the community.
As Chan and Ridley state toward the end of the book, 'Unfortunately, there are no enforceable international biosafety and biosecurity standards.' Preach. This is an extremely important message that should not be lost amid the political firestorm over origins.'
In 'Viral: The Search for the Origin of Covid-19,' molecular biologist Alina Chan and author Matt Ridley assemble perhaps the most comprehensive case for the lab-leak theory currently available.
The Chinese are secretive about all things... The shame of 'Viral' is that it promotes a groundless theory that threatens to lead policymakers, as well as members of the public, down the wrong road, to humankind's enduring detriment.
These stories all seem to be real; I've followed up on all the ones I've mentioned and confirmed them... The book, fairly, does not conclude that the lab-leak hypothesis is definitely true, merely that it is highly possible, and I agree.
There is just one problem: nowhere do they present proof that Sars-CoV-2 was manufactured.
Author | Alina Chan and Matt Ridley |
---|---|
Published | November 16, 2021 |
Publisher | HarperCollins |
ISBN | 978-0-00-848749-2 |
Viral: The Search for the Origin of COVID-19 is a 2021 book by Canadian molecular biologist Alina Chan and British science writer Matt Ridley. The authors describe ongoing investigations into the origin of COVID-19. An updated version was published in June 2022. [1]
The book has received mixed reviews. [2] [3] [4] The Wall Street Journal's reviewer said the book has compiled "perhaps the most comprehensive case for the lab-leak theory currently available". [5] Columnist Michael Hiltzik wrote in the Los Angeles Times that the authors "place[d] a conspiracy theory between hardcovers to masquerade as sober scientific inquiry." [6] A review in The Times described it as concluding that the lab-leak hypothesis is "highly possible" rather than "definitely true". [7] Writing in The Guardian, medical journalist Mark Honigsbaum considered the book's main argument to be unconvincing, and some of Chan and Ridley's descriptions to be "highly misleading". [8] Author Steven Poole writing for the Daily Telegraph was unconvinced by the central thesis although he did support the authors in their plea to discontinue gain of function research. [3]
Chan's critics have multiplied – as have her supporters – with the publication of Viral ... The book has invoked mixed reactions.
Viral ... pretends to be agnostic between the two while pimping the lab-leak scenario for all it's worth... This book shows well how coronaviruses spill over naturally between species all the time... One can agree ... with the book's passionate argument for closer regulation of ... 'gain-of-function research'.
The book makes the case for both possibilities: natural transfer of the virus from bats to mammals and then to humans, or from some sort of lab accident at the Wuhan Institute of Virology that spread to the community.
As Chan and Ridley state toward the end of the book, 'Unfortunately, there are no enforceable international biosafety and biosecurity standards.' Preach. This is an extremely important message that should not be lost amid the political firestorm over origins.'
In 'Viral: The Search for the Origin of Covid-19,' molecular biologist Alina Chan and author Matt Ridley assemble perhaps the most comprehensive case for the lab-leak theory currently available.
The Chinese are secretive about all things... The shame of 'Viral' is that it promotes a groundless theory that threatens to lead policymakers, as well as members of the public, down the wrong road, to humankind's enduring detriment.
These stories all seem to be real; I've followed up on all the ones I've mentioned and confirmed them... The book, fairly, does not conclude that the lab-leak hypothesis is definitely true, merely that it is highly possible, and I agree.
There is just one problem: nowhere do they present proof that Sars-CoV-2 was manufactured.