from Hacker News

U.S. cancels program aimed at identifying potential pandemic viruses

by we_never_see_it on 9/12/23, 2:55 PM with 43 comments

• by RcouF1uZ4gsC on 9/12/23, 5:36 PM

  > DEEP VZN drew especially sharp scrutiny because the EcoHealth Alliance, a nonprofit that specializes in sampling animals in attempts to prevent emerging diseases, played a central role in the PREDICT consortium. (EcoHealth also had a long-standing collaboration with the Wuhan lab at the center of the lab-leak theory.)

  This is why it actually matters to try to figure out if the lab leak is the most probably cause, taking into account adverse interference based on the Chinese government's massive destruction of evidence. If the lab leak was the cause of the Covid-19 pandemic, then it is very reasonable to shut down related programs.

• by matt3210 on 9/12/23, 4:44 PM

  Typical… during peace time nations often get complacent. During healthy time, nations often get complacent. I thought it would take longer given just two years ago most stuff was shut down.

• by kevlened on 9/12/23, 4:58 PM

  This is fantastic news. I recommend listening to Rob Reid's interview with Kevin Esvelt on the topic.

  The gist is the program was designed to find potential viruses, then share them openly so countries without resources for this research could still prepare for future viruses. Obviously, open access to recipes for pandemic-grade viruses means they could also be used for nefarious means.

  It's worth listening to the analysis as Rob Reid is an excellent interviewer and Kevin Esvelt is an expert in the field (he's at the forefront of gene drives).

  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lr28XeVYm8U

  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5qWiCan9lAMnVrWqzpdHoI?si=0...