Mutant pangolin coronavirus, 100% death rate on mice… Three questions to understand experiments in China
Chinese scientists have successfully mutated the pangolin coronavirus directly injected into mice. Result: All died. Answers three questions on the editorial topic.
Chinese researchers at the Beijing University of Chemical Technology have published their preliminary results of a study on the GX_P2V coronavirus from pangolins tested on mice.
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Why such experiments?
The objective? Mutate the virus, give it more virulence, and inject it into mice to see the effects. And the result is alarming because none of the rats are left. According to him, the cause of mortality is due to an increase in the “viral load of the virus in the brain”. Researchers justify their experience by the desire to prepare in the event of the appearance of a very dangerous virus.
A deadly virus for humans?
The first results concern the scientific community. Contamination of GX_P2V to humans is not impossible because dead mice had receptors similar to humans on their cells.
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“It’s the gateway to human cells,” says CNRS Research Director Bruno Kennard. was questioned by Figaro, he adds: “Characteristics of infection may appear naturally.” If this happens, the virus can potentially infect humans. Now this is a matter to follow very closely.
Safe handling?
According to scientists, such an experiment is dangerous only four years after the epidemic that killed millions of people. “It’s not responsible science,” comments Francois Belloux, a professor of computational biology. He assigns New York Times Doesn’t see the point of these experiments: “I don’t find it vaguely interesting that the forced infection of mice with a random virus is derived from (…). On the contrary, I can imagine everything that could go wrong.”
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According to Bruno Kennard, “No information is provided on the level of security of the laboratory where this manipulation took place.” He condemns the lack of transparency and the dangerousness of such an experiment: “The idea that this virus can escape is completely credible.”
