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Mark Histed
@markhisted.org

Heads up: Kristian Andersen @kgandersen.bsky.social is speaking at #NIH tomorrow. “On Viral Emergence and the Origin of Pandemics,” 2pm ET, NIH B40 (the Vaccine Research Center). Despite the non-Lab Leak topic, this isn’t part of Jay Bhattacharya’s so-called “Scientific Freedom” lecture series. 🧪

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curious-asd.bsky.social
@curious-asd.bsky.social

I think zoonosis has links to environmental stress. If you look at 1918. We are now looking at Horses as an intermediate host. We had equine influenza. What we also had was horse waste in the streets ammonia and fossil fuel emissions.

curious-asd.bsky.social
@curious-asd.bsky.social

Not too dissimilar to today. Global reactive nitrogen is very very high. We have synthetic ammonia and then fossil fuel pollution again. All increasing nitric oxide in the body which is mildly mutagenic.

curious-asd.bsky.social
@curious-asd.bsky.social

Nitric oxide kills viruses in early infection but I think it may also put evolutionary pressure on pathogens. Our environment obviously affects both us and animals. It's interesting we had pathogens from bats and birds and links to air pollution and severity.

Mark Histed
@markhisted.org

“Non-Lab Leak” meaning the talk is likely to discuss the substantial genetic and evolutionary evidence that COVID emerged via zoonotic crossover, and thus was likely not some kind of bioengineered bioweapon as the White House has been trumpeting. Scientific freedom!

Mark Histed
@markhisted.org

If J Bhattacharya believed in real scientific freedom, he’d be giving Dr. Andersen a high-profile seminar slot and boosting him as much as he boosted deniers. Proclaiming “scientific freedom” while amplifying fringe ideas is the Powell Memo/Bhattacharya Method for creating bias in public debate.