Report: Wuhan Lab Sought Funding to Create, Release ‘Enhanced’ Coronaviruses into Bats

[Revmitchell]

Wuhan and American researchers with EcoHealth Alliance and the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) had a plan to release “enhanced airborne coronavirus particles” into Chinese bat populations to inoculate them against diseases that could jump to humans, according to a new report from the British newspaper Telegraph.

According to the report, EcoHealth Alliance submitted a grant proposal in 2018 — just 18 months before the first COVID-19 cases appeared — describing a plan to release “skin-penetrating nanoparticles and aerosols containing ‘novel chimeric spike proteins’ of bat coronaviruses into cave bats in Yunnan, China.”

Researchers also wanted to create chimeric viruses that were “genetically enhanced to infect humans more easily, and requested $14 million from the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to fund the work,” the Telegraph reports. The papers show the researchers were hoping to introduce “human-specific cleavage sites” to bat coronaviruses, which would make it easier for the virus to enter human cells.

Report: Wuhan Lab Sought Funding to Create, Release ‘Enhanced’ Coronaviruses into Bats

 

[Andre]

Yes, and DARPA rejected the proposal for this research.

 

[SGO]

Source?

 

[Andre]

Source?

US ‘rejected funding for bat coronavirus project at Wuhan lab’ | News | The Times

 

[Revmitchell]

Whether it was accepted or rejected is beyond the point. Good grief

 

[Use of Time]

It’s certainly an important detail wouldn’t you say? Why would you choose not to include that in such an article if you publishing that for the public. Good grief.

 

[Andre]

Whether it was accepted or rejected is beyond the point. Good grief

Of course, the fact that DARPA rejected the proposal is highly relevant - it shows that the "system" is working with respect to ensuring dangerous initiatives are throttled.