Chinese Scientists Published long-awaited Data on the Origin of COVID-19

A research team in China has published an analysis of samples taken more than three years ago from a market linked to the outbreak of COVID-19, the BBC reported.

The seafood and wildlife market in Wuhan is the focus of the search for the origin of the coronavirus.

But this is the first peer-reviewed study of biological evidence collected from there in 2020.

By linking the virus to animals sold on the market, it could give new directions to the study of how the infection arose.

The analysis revealed that positive samples for the virus also contained genetic material from wild animals. Some scientists believe this is further evidence that the disease was originally transmitted from an infected animal to man.

However, others have urged caution in interpreting the results, and it remains unclear why it took three years before the genetic content of the samples was made public.

Another theory centers on the assumption that the virus accidentally leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan.

No definitive proof

The Chinese research team published an early version of their study online in February 2022, but not the full genetic information contained in the samples collected from the market.

In March of this year, another international group of researchers shared their own assessment of what these key market samples had revealed after noticing that the genetic sequences had been posted on a scientific data-sharing website.

This new analysis, which was confirmed by other scientists before being published in the journal Nature, includes more important details about the contents of these samples, which were collected from market stalls, surfaces, cages and equipment.

The Chinese research team...