Oh, is this important? We think it might be important:
Exclusive: Documents obtained by The Intercept provide details of U.S.-funded research on several types of coronaviruses at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China. https://t.co/1TVHHFWqzX
— The Intercept (@theintercept) September 7, 2021
This thread from Richard H. Ebright, Board of Governors Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Rutgers University, is a great summary of what The Intercept found in those new docs:
"NEWLY RELEASED documents provide details of US-funded research on..coronaviruses at the Wuhan Institute of Virology..The Intercept has obtained more than 900 pages of documents detailing..work of..EcoHealth Alliance..at the Chinese lab.."https://t.co/n3OkFAq3kM
— Richard H. Ebright (@R_H_Ebright) September 7, 2021
"The trove of documents includes two previously unpublished grant proposals that were funded by the NIAID, as well as project updates relating to the EcoHealth Alliance’s research, which has been scrutinized amid increased interest in the origins of the pandemic."
— Richard H. Ebright (@R_H_Ebright) September 7, 2021
The materials show that the 2014 and 2019 NIH grants to EcoHealth with subcontracts to WIV funded gain-of-function research as defined in federal policies in effect in 2014-2017 and potential pandemic pathogen enhancement as defined in federal policies in effect in 2017-present.
— Richard H. Ebright (@R_H_Ebright) September 7, 2021
(This had been evident previously from published research papers that credited the 2014 grant and from the publicly available summary of the 2019 grant. But this now can be stated definitively from progress reports of the 2014 grant and the full proposal of the 2017 grant.)
— Richard H. Ebright (@R_H_Ebright) September 7, 2021
Recommended
The materials confirm the grants supported the construction–in Wuhan–of novel chimeric SARS-related coronaviruses that combined a spike gene from one coronavirus with genetic information from another coronavirus, and confirmed the resulting viruses could infect human cells.
— Richard H. Ebright (@R_H_Ebright) September 7, 2021
The materials reveal that the resulting novel, laboratory-generated SARS-related coronaviruses also could infect mice engineered to display human receptors on cells ("humanized mice").
— Richard H. Ebright (@R_H_Ebright) September 7, 2021
The materials further reveal for the first time that one of the resulting novel, laboratory-generated SARS-related coronaviruses–one not been previously disclosed publicly–was more pathogenic to humanized mice than the starting virus from which it was constructed…
— Richard H. Ebright (@R_H_Ebright) September 7, 2021
…and thus not only was reasonably anticipated to exhibit enhanced pathogenicity, but, indeed, was *demonstrated* to exhibit enhanced pathogenicity.
— Richard H. Ebright (@R_H_Ebright) September 7, 2021
The materials further reveal that the the grants also supported the construction–in Wuhan–of novel chimeric MERS-related coronaviruses that combined spike genes from one MERS-related coronavirus with genetic information from another MERS-related coronavirus.
— Richard H. Ebright (@R_H_Ebright) September 7, 2021
The documents make it clear that assertions by the NIH Director, Francis Collins, and the NIAID Director, Anthony Fauci, that the NIH did not support gain-of-function research or potential pandemic pathogen enhancement at WIV are untruthful.
— Richard H. Ebright (@R_H_Ebright) September 7, 2021
And if it wasn’t clear from that thread “Rand Paul was right” and “Anthony Fauci lied to Congress”:
Rand Paul was right. Anthony Fauci lied to Congress. Media need to run some corrections. https://t.co/Aw713KRFhi
— Phil Kerpen (@kerpen) September 7, 2021
Time for some corrections, journos.
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