====== Zoonotic Origins Hypothesis ======
Since the start of the pandemic, authorities have primarily promoted a [[SARS-CoV-2:origins]] theory of [[:zoonosis|zoonotic]] transfer from an animal host to humans. A group of researchers going by the name [[:D.R.A.S.T.I.C.]] has sought to counter what they consider a propaganda campaign by government, military, and industry to make it appear that the origins of SARS-CoV-2 are zoonotic.

===== Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China =====
In July 2022, [[:Michael Worobey]] and a group of scientists which includes [[:Angela Rasmussen]], [[:Kristian Anderson]], others, published a paper collecting data from several sources suggesting that known cases of COVID-19 centered around the Huanan market.((July 26, 2022 | [[:Michael Worobey]] et al | Science (journal) | The Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan was the early epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic | [[https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abp8715|DOI: 10.1126/science.abp8715]]))

===== Bat Coronaviruses =====
With the notable except of the spike protein, the genetric sequence that makes up SARS-CoV-2 is most highly similar to those of coronaviruses that have been found in bats.

In 2015, scientists including [[:Ralph Baric]] and [[:Shi Zhengli]] published a paper noting the existence of SARS-like coronaviruses showing "potential for human emergence".((November 9, 2015 | Vineet Menachery et al | Nature Medicine | A SARS-like cluster of circulating bat coronaviruses 
shows potential for human emergence | [[https://www.nature.com/articles/nm.3985/|doi.org/10.1038/nm.3985))

The [[:RaTG13]] [[:betacoronavirus]] is the most highly similar coronavirus to SARS-CoV-2, sharing 98.7% identical mitochondrial [[:rRNA]], but was supposedly generated from a bat fecal swab, which strikes some scientists as unlikely since metagenomic analysis shows a small 10.3% bacterial rRNA in the dataset.((November 22, 2021 | Steven E Massey | preprint | [[https://arxiv.org/abs/2111.09469|arXiv:2111.09469]]))

More recently, close coronavirus relatives to SARS-CoV-2 have been found in bats in [[:Laos]].((September 17, 2021 | Temmam et al | preprint | [[https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-871965/v1|DOI:
10.21203/rs.3.rs-871965/v1]])) Some scientists claim this bolsters to the zoonotic origins theory while giving no answers to the numerous critiques of that theory.((September 24, 2021 | Smriti Mallapaty | [[:Nature]] | [[https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02596-2#ref-CR1|Closest known relatives of virus behind COVID-19 found in Laos]]))

===== Pangolins =====

===== Conflicts of Interest =====
Since the start of the SARS-CoV-2 origins debate, a great deal of information has surfaced regarding what at least stand out as conflicts of interest, if not outright corruption, among those defending theories of natural origins. At least $50 million in NIAID funding went to scientists instrumental in defending the natural origins hypothesis.((January 19, 2022 | [[:The Epoch Times]] | [[https://www.theepochtimes.com/scientists-who-were-instrumental-to-covid-19-natural-origins-narrative-received-over-50-million-in-niaid-funding-in-2020-2021_4220769.html|Scientists Who Were Instrumental to COVID-19 ‘Natural Origin’ Narrative Received Over $50 Million in NIAID Funding in 2020–21]]))

==== Charles Calisher ====
The National Pulse reported that [[:Google]] funded Charles Calisher's research and had ties with [[:EcoHealth Alliance]].((April 21, 2022 | The National Pulse | [[https://thenationalpulse.com/2022/04/21/google-funded-prominent-lab-leak-denier/|REVEALED: Google Funded a Leading ‘Lab Leak’ Denier.]]))

===== Propaganda? =====
On July 17, 2021, [[:The Lancet]] published an opinion piece by a group of authors that included [[:Peter Daszak]] and [[:Christian Drosten]] entitled "Science, not speculation, is essential to determine how SARS-CoV-2 reached humans".((July 17, 2021 | Calisher et al | [[:The Lancet]] | [[https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01419-7/fulltext|DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01419-7]]))

===== Related Research =====
  * July 25, 2020 - Poudel et al: Animal coronaviruses and coronavirus disease 2019: Lesson for One Health approach.((July 25, 2020 | Poudel et al | [[:Open Veterinary Journal]] | [[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC7703617/|Animal coronaviruses and coronavirus disease 2019: Lesson for One Health approach]]))