Month: April 2022

Virologists push back on more regulation of viruses made more lethal in the lab

Print Email Share Tweet LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Telegram
|

Virologists pushed back on the possibility of tighter regulation of viruses tweaked in the lab to be more lethal at a public meeting Wednesday. An enhanced pandemic potential pathogen is a virus or microbe that has gained increased transmissibility — capacity to spread from person to person and reverberate throughout a population — or virulence … Virologists push back on more regulation of viruses made more lethal in the lab

U.S. Right to Know confirms a third maximum containment lab in China

Print Email Share Tweet LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Telegram
|

A new maximum biocontainment lab in Kunming, China, was certified three years ago while remaining under-the-radar in the U.S. biodefense community, documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request show. China’s plans to build an ABSL-4 under the Institute of Medical Biology and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences in Kunming were previously known. But … U.S. Right to Know confirms a third maximum containment lab in China

Center for Food Integrity: PR for processed foods, pesticides and GMOs

Print Email Share Tweet LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Telegram
|

The Center for Food Integrity (CFI), formerly the Grow America Project, is an industry-funded 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization that conducts research, lobbying and public relations campaigns to “earn consumer trust” for processed food and agrichemical companies, including DowDuPont, Monsanto, Cargill, Costco, Grocery Manufacturers Association, Hershey, Kroger and trade associations for meat, dairy and soybeans. In the … Center for Food Integrity: PR for processed foods, pesticides and GMOs

Wuhan lab can delete data in ‘explosive’ legal agreement with U.S. lab

Print Email Share Tweet LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Telegram
|

April 20, 3:40 p.m.: This story has been updated with comment from UTMB. The Wuhan Institute of Virology has the right to ask a partnering lab in the U.S. to destroy all records of their work, according to a legal document obtained by U.S. Right to Know. A memorandum of understanding between the Wuhan lab … Wuhan lab can delete data in ‘explosive’ legal agreement with U.S. lab

Emails raise questions about China’s sway over first WHO mission on COVID-19

Print Email Share Tweet LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Telegram
|

An early World Health Organization report about the COVID-19 pandemic was influenced by political considerations in China, emails obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show. A World Health Organization mission of 13 international experts and 12 Chinese experts ⁠— led by Bruce Aylward, a senior advisor at the World Health Organization, and Wannian Liang, … Emails raise questions about China’s sway over first WHO mission on COVID-19

Alison Van Eenennaam: key outside spokesperson and lobbyist for the pesticide and GMO industries

Print Email Share Tweet LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Telegram
|

Alison Van Eenennaam, PhD, a Professor of Cooperative Extension in Animal Biotechnology and Genomics at University of California, Davis, is a leading promoter of genetically engineered animals, crops and the pesticides that accompany them, and an advocate for deregulation. Dr. Van Eenennaam is a former Monsanto employee who opposes requiring safety studies for genetically engineered … Alison Van Eenennaam: key outside spokesperson and lobbyist for the pesticide and GMO industries

WHO chief Tedros: No dispositive evidence yet on COVID’s origin

Print Email Share Tweet LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Telegram
|

World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that there is no proof “beyond a reasonable doubt” for one COVID-19 origin hypothesis or the other in a brief interview with U.S. Right to Know. In an interview in Washington on Thursday, Tedros was asked about recent preprint publications claiming “dispositive” evidence that COVID-19 originated … WHO chief Tedros: No dispositive evidence yet on COVID’s origin

U.S. virologist let Wuhan scientists revise his Congressional briefing

Print Email Share Tweet LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Telegram
|

An American virologist asked Wuhan Institute of Virology scientists to edit a briefing he prepared for Congressional staff, according to documents obtained by U.S. Right to Know.  “I certainly do not want to compromise you or your research activities,” wrote leading biosafety expert and virologist James Le Duc to Shi Zhengli, a top virologist at … U.S. virologist let Wuhan scientists revise his Congressional briefing