Key articles on origins of Covid-19, gain-of-function research and biolabs

Here is a reading list of articles from the past six months about what is known and not known about the origins of SARS-CoV-2, accidents and leaks at biosafety and biowarfare laboratories, and the health risks of gain-of-function research, which aims to increase the host range, transmissibility, infectivity or pathogenicity of potential pandemic pathogens. This list is a work in progress. If you have suggestions for other readings that should be on this page, please send them to us via email at hana@usrtk.org.

Biosafety Now. Crits-Christoph et al., 2024 Retraction Request. Paul Babitzke et al. September 20, 2024.

Cell. Genetic tracing of market wildlife and viruses at the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. Alexander Crits-Cristoph et al. September 19, 2024.

DRASTIC. Worldwide Biosafety Map of BSL3 and BSL4 Laboratories. June 18, 2024.

The New York Times. Why the Pandemic Probably Started in a Lab, in 5 Key Points. [Opinion] By Alina Chan. June 2, 2024.

The New York Times. U.S. Tightens Rules on Risky Virus Research. By Carl Zimmer and Benjamin Mueller. May 7, 2024.

U.S. House of Representatives, Select Subcommittee on Coronavirus Pandemic. An Evaluation of the Evidence Surrounding EcoHealth Alliance, Inc.’s Research Activities. May 1, 2024.

Vanity Fair. Ralph Baric, Whose Virology Techniques Were Used in Wuhan, Testified That Lab Leak Was Possible. By Katherine Eban. May 1, 2024.

AP News. Toxic: How the search for the origins of COVID-19 turned politically poisonous. By Dake Kang and Maria Cheng. April 23, 2024.

Risk Analysis. Use of a risk assessment tool to determine the origin of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Xin Chen, Fatema Kalyar, Abrar Ahmad Chughtai and Chandini Raina MacIntyre. March 15, 2024.

The Wall Street Journal. Where Did Covid Come From? [Commentary] By Nicholas Wade. February 28, 2024.

City Journal. The Story of the Decade – New documents strengthen—perhaps conclusively—the lab-leak hypothesis of Covid-19’s origins. By Nicholas Wade. January 25, 2024.

The Wall Street Journal. Chinese Lab Mapped Deadly Coronavirus Two Weeks Before Beijing Told the World, Documents Show. By Warren Strobel. January 17, 2024.

Press Gazette. Covid-19 origins: A media conspiracy of silence. By Jim Edwards. December 15, 2023.

Vanity Fair. Secret Warnings About Wuhan Research Predated the Pandemic. By Katherine Eban. November 21, 2023.

Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Potential Links Between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the Origin of the COVID-19 Pandemic. June 23, 2023.

The Wall Street Journal. U.S.-Funded Scientist Among Three Chinese Researchers Who Fell Ill Amid Early Covid-19 Outbreak. By Michael R. Gordon and Warren P. Strobel. June 20, 2023.

Nature. Wuhan market samples fail to shed further light on COVID origins. By Dyani Lewis. May 4, 2023.

bioRxiv. Association between SARS-CoV-2 and metagenomic content of samples from the Huanan Seafood Market. Jesse Bloom. April 26, 2023.

KFF Health News. Did a Military Lab Spill Anthrax Into Public Waterways? New Book Reveals Details of a US Leak. By Alison Young. April 25, 2023.

The New York Times. Chinese Censorship Is Quietly Rewriting the Covid-19 Story. By Mara Hvistendahl and Benjamin Mueller. April 23, 2023.

The Washington Post. China’s struggles with lab safety carry danger of another pandemic. By Joby Warrick and David Willman. April 12, 2023.

USA Today. Lab-created bird flu virus accident shows lax oversight of risky ‘gain of function’ research. By Alison Young. April 11, 2023.

The Washington Post. Research with exotic viruses risks a deadly outbreak, scientists warn. By David Willman and Joby Warrick. April 10, 2023.

Science. Share all SARS-CoV-2 data immediately. By Maria D. Van Kerkhove. April 6, 2023.

Nature. Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 at the Huanan Seafood Market. William Liu et al. April 5, 2023.

World Health Organization, Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO). SAGO statement on newly released SARS-CoV-2 metagenomics data from China CDC on GISAID. March 18, 2023.

The New York Times. New Data Links Pandemic’s Origins to Raccoon Dogs at Wuhan Market. By Benjamin Mueller. March 16, 2023.

The Washington Post. Opinion: Available evidence still points to covid originating from spillover. By Angela Rasmussen and Saskia Popescu. March 7, 2023.

The Free Press. Is Gain-of-Function Research a ‘Risk Worth Taking’? Or ‘Insanity’?. By David Zweig. March 7, 2023.

U.S. House of Representatives, Select Subcommittee on Coronavirus Pandemic, majority staff. Memorandum: New Evidence Resulting from the Select Subcommittee’s Investigation into the Origins of COVID-19 – “The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2“. March 5, 2023.

Wall Street Journal. FBI Director Says Covid Pandemic Likely Caused by Chinese Lab Leak: Christopher Wray provides first public confirmation of bureau’s classified assessment of suspected laboratory incident. By Michael R. Gordon and Warren P. Strobel. February 28, 2023

Wall Street Journal. Lab Leak Most Likely Origin of Covid-19 Pandemic, Energy Department Now Says; U.S. agency’s revised assessment is based on new intelligence. By Michael R. Gordon and Warren P. Strobel. February 26, 2023

The Hill. To prevent a deadlier pandemic, pause gain of function research. By Marc Siegel and Robert Redfield. February 2, 2023.

The Intercept. Unredacted NIH Emails Show Efforts to Rule Out Lab Origin of Covid. By Jimmy Tobias. January 19, 2023.

U.S. Government Accountability Office. HHS Could Improve Oversight of Research Involving Enhanced Potential Pandemic Pathogens. January 18, 2022.

Washington Post. Wuhan’s early covid cases are a mystery. What is China hiding? November 17, 2022.

New York Times. A Plea for Making Virus Research Safer. By Jesse Bloom. October 30, 2022.

Vanity Fair and ProPublica. COVID-19 Origins: Investigating a “Complex and Grave Situation” Inside a Wuhan Lab. By Katherine Eban and Jeff Kao. October 28, 2022. See also: Editor’s Note: A Review of Criticisms of a ProPublica-Vanity Fair Story on a COVID Origins Report. By Stephen Engleberg. November 30, 2022.

U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, minority oversight staff. An Analysis of the Origins of the Covid-19 Pandemic: interim report. October 28, 2022.