Lab or nature: scientists are debating the origins of COVID-19

We need to talk about COVID-19. Again (or, still). One of the main questions about SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has for a while been about its origins. Most viruses that cause disease in humans have long, fascinating origin stories, with jumps from animal to animal until they finally make it into people and start killing them. But COVID-19, goes the theory, could be lab-grown—either from an intentional lab leak or a mistake of epic proportions.

No, this is not to fuel fear to the world. Rather, at Next Nature Network, it is our goal to open the societal debate on where nature and technology meet. We do this with an open, hopeful and sometimes teasing tone. But it’s also important to be critical and inclusive, and allowing you to judge for yourself.

We therefore want to share with you this long read we recently encountered by leading science writer Nicholas Wade. In his text, Wade describes two theories on the origins of the pandemic and explains why each is plausible. Wade ultimately asks which provides the better explanation of the available scientific facts.

Wade: “It’s important to note that so far there is no direct evidence for either theory. Each depends on a set of reasonable conjectures but so far lacks proof. So I have only clues, not conclusions, to offer. But those clues point in a specific direction. And having inferred that direction, I’m going to delineate some of the strands in this tangled skein of disaster.”

Judge for yourself. Read the text here.