Was SARS-CoV-2 made in a lab?

A great many of the scientists who propose a laboratory origin for the SARS-CoV-2 virus point to the unlikely presence of a “Furin cleavage site” (FCS) on the spike protein of the virus.  In short, the FCS is very similar to one found in a human gene and would be very unusual for a virus of the family to which SARS-CoV-2 belongs evolving in an animal host.

Valentin Bruttel of the Department for Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Clinics of Würzburg, Germany; Alex Washburne of Selva Analytics in Bozeman, Montana; and Antonius VanDongen of the Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology at Duke University have have just released a new study which might provide even more evidence of a laboratory origin of SARS-CoV-2.  Their paper is entitled Endonuclease fingerprint indicates a synthetic origin of SARS-CoV-2 and can be found on the bioRxiv pre-print server.

These scientists say they have found evidence that the SARS-CoV-2 virus has a restriction site fingerprint that is typical for synthetic viruses.  Restriction sites are those locations on the virus where DNA building blocks have been stitched together with special enzymes called restriction enzymes.

References

Controversial new research suggests SARS-CoV-2 bears signs of genetic engineering. (2022, October 22). The Economist. https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2022/10/22/a-new-paper-claims-sars-cov-2-bears-signs-of-genetic-engineering

Endonuclease fingerprint indicates a synthetic origin of SARS-CoV-2. (2022, October 20). bioRxiv. Retrieved October 24, 2022, from https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.10.18.512756v1

Quay, S., & Muller, R. (2021, June 6). Opinion | The Science Suggests a Wuhan Lab Leak. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-science-suggests-a-wuhan-lab-leak-11622995184

Thomas, L. (2021, February 17). The origin of SARS-CoV-2 furin cleavage site remains a mystery. News Medical. Retrieved October 24, 2022, from https://www.news-medical.net/news/20210217/The-origin-of-SARS-CoV-2-furin-cleavage-site-remains-a-mystery.aspx