Libertarian_Virologist @ban_epp_gofroc Twitter profile

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Libertarian_Virologist

@ban_epp_gofroc

1 month

@JamesCTobias It is beyond outrageous that major media such as @nytimes @washingtonpost @NPR continue to ignore/downplay what a major scandal it is that top NIH officials were engaged in a pattern of obstructing the public’s right to know about their funding of risky virus research in Wuhan.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

2 months

Imagine if Woodward and Bernstein responded to Deep Throat’s initial efforts at exposing Watergate by forwarding his account verbatim to the Nixon administration. That’s how “reporter” Jon Cohen responded when he was contacted by an anonymous whistleblower. #CrookedCohen

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@ban_epp_gofroc

16 days

Fauci lied to Congress: A 🧵 - NIH staff reasonably anticipated in advance that EcoHealth’s virus experiments in Wuhan would enhance the pathogenicity or transmissibility of a SARS or MERS-like virus. - Their experiments then did enhance the pathogenicity of a SARS-like virus.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

30 days

Almost one year ago, we learned that Bloomberg reporter Jason Gale @jwgale was on an email chain with David Morens, wherein Morens admitted to willful defiance of FOIA. Gale said nothing and never reported this, which is an egregious violation of basic standards of journalism.🧵

Hans Mahncke

@HansMahncke

1 year

There's so much in the new Covid origin email dump that it's difficult to know where to start. Here's a Bloomberg stenographer called Jason Gale apologizing to Fauci's senior assistant, David Morens, because Gale's colleagues are doing actual journalism.

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Libertarian_Virologist

@ban_epp_gofroc

25 days

I’m very concerned that we’ve trained a generation of young scientists who are seriously deficient in basic ethics, executive branch compliance with the law, mathematical reasoning, and lack respect for the taxpayers who fund the grants that keep the lights on.

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Libertarian_Virologist

@ban_epp_gofroc

1 month

In 2012, Anthony Fauci anticipated almost the exact situation that very likely led to the COVID pandemic: gain of function research on potential pandemic pathogens done under low biosafety conditions. Fauci knew the risks, knew that the research had no benefits, and proceeded. 🧵

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Libertarian_Virologist

@ban_epp_gofroc

3 months

Rasmussen claims that Ebright and Nickels have inflicted a “terrible toll” and “emotional pain” on her. Yet Rasmussen is a major proponent of incivility in public discourse and has even touted incivility as a virtue.

Bryce Nickels

@Bryce_Nickels

3 months

If there was a crybully Hall of Fame, Angela Rasmussen would be its first inductee.

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Libertarian_Virologist

@ban_epp_gofroc

2 months

Ralph Baric consciously omitted a map of the BsmBI and BsaI sites in his paper describing a reverse genetics system he designed for SARS-CoV-2, that used BsmBI and BsaI. That’s worth remembering given his unconvincing argument against SARS2 engineering.

Libertarian_Virologist

@ban_epp_gofroc

5 months

A Curious Omission: Two independent groups that included LeDuc and Baric designed reverse genetics systems with seamless ligation for SARS2 using BsmBI/BsaI. But neither discussed how these systems needed to be designed around already occurring BsmBI/BsaI sites. A 🧵1/

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Libertarian_Virologist

@ban_epp_gofroc

2 months

One of the most absurd false claims of @PeterDaszak was when he claimed the Wuhan Institute of Virology did not keep live bats. As he so often does, Daszak offered an absurd excuse when evidence emerged that proved his previous statement false.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

1 month

Supposedly they were going to predict future pandemics and stockpile vaccines for viruses that hadn’t yet evolved. Of course that’s not what happened. There were zero human vaccines developed based on the airborne ferret H5N1 created by Kawaoka and Fouchier.

Jay Bhattacharya

@DrJBhattacharya

1 month

Underpants gnome virology Step 1: find pathogens in the remote wild that few humans will ever encounter Step 2: do dangerous experiments on them in leaky labs in population centers Step 3: Profit!!!

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Libertarian_Virologist

@ban_epp_gofroc

2 months

@COVIDSelect @USRightToKnow If State Department refuses to declassify, Chairman @RepBradWenstrup has the power to legally read these documents into the congressional record under the Constitution’s Speech and Debate Clause. It’s been done before.

Mark Udall unloads

He says they engaged in a “cover-up” intended to obscure the true history of the spy agency’s interrogation program.

www.politico.com

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@ban_epp_gofroc

1 month

In his testimony, Ralph Baric claimed that the Wuhan Institute of Virology never developed a working infectious clone of MERS-CoV. The delayed 2019 EcoHealth grant report shows that WIV *DID* generate infectious clones of MERS and chimeras with the MERS backbone. A 🧵

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@ban_epp_gofroc

1 month

DEFUSE is virology’s equivalent of insider trading. It strains belief they predicted so many unique features of a pandemic virus that emerged one year following the proposal, in the same city as one of the proposers’ labs, a city once used as a negative control for CoV exposure.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

21 days

Stu Neil @stuartjdneil is constantly on the attack against @WashburneAlex and his co-authors because he has no coherent rebuttal to their paper. When I pointed out that recombination is very unlikely to produce SARS2’s uniform restriction site pattern, Stu called me a creationist

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Libertarian_Virologist

@ban_epp_gofroc

2 months

Ralph Baric’s congressional testimony omitted key information: 1) WIV made infectious clones with bacterial artificial chromosomes that have wide applicability 2) WIV made chimeric viruses using rWIV1 with novel spikes swapped in using Type IIS restriction enzymes. A 🧵

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Libertarian_Virologist

@ban_epp_gofroc

5 months

A Curious Omission: Two independent groups that included LeDuc and Baric designed reverse genetics systems with seamless ligation for SARS2 using BsmBI/BsaI. But neither discussed how these systems needed to be designed around already occurring BsmBI/BsaI sites. A 🧵1/

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Libertarian_Virologist

@ban_epp_gofroc

3 months

Yet again, we see top US science administrators were privately entertaining the same hypotheses that were being publicly labeled as debunked conspiracy theories. This time, the Mojiang Miners Passage hypothesis of @BioSRP

Jimmy Tobias

@JamesCTobias

3 months

New NIH FOIA release, including some email exchanges between Proximal Origin authors, portions of Dr. Fauci's calendar, a redacted Power point presentation on Covid origins, etc:

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@ban_epp_gofroc

4 months

@DrHermiz In what academic field is it considered normal behavior for senior scientists to unleash a torrent of abusive language and unfounded claims of personality disorders against a person who wrote a cover letter for a paper submitted for peer review?

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@ban_epp_gofroc

3 months

Does SARS-CoV-2 really have a “crap furin cleavage site” as Kristian Andersen claims? Hoffman et al 2020 examined cell entry using VSV particles with spike proteins and found that the wild type PRRAR at S1/S2 outperformed those with theoretically optimal RRRKR. A 🧵

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@ban_epp_gofroc

4 months

Dr. Angela Rasmussen replies to my comment about her calling Alina Chan a “manipulative conspiracist” and “mediocrity” to explain it’s actually ok for her to insult and demean a junior scientist.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

1 month

Now we know why the NIH aggressively redacted FOIA’d documents, to the point that obtaining almost any information from NIH became impossible without filing a lawsuit challenging the redactions. (Those lawsuits almost all eventually succeeded because the redactions were unlawful)

Emily Kopp

@emilyakopp

1 month

The head of Fauci's FOIA office "hates FOIAs." Go figure. The "FOIA lady" that helped Fauci aide David Morens avoid FOIA has been apparently identified.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

3 months

@emilyakopp @nytimes refuses to cover this story. If the release of the Worobey preprint was worth a push notification to subscribers, the actual publication of a clear refutation of its statistical methods is also worth a push notification and front page coverage.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

4 months

Stuart Neil has blocked me after a repeatedly trying to deflect questions about whether the BsmBI and BsaI sites in SARS2 could be used as part of a reverse genetics system. Nice chatting, Stu!

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@ban_epp_gofroc

1 month

@Bryce_Nickels How can Science quote Hotez as if he is an impartial observer? Hotez funded research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology that involved WIV1-SHC014, the very virus that blew past the viral growth thresholds in EcoHealth’s grant, that EcoHealth failed to report.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

10 days

I have been blocked by Peter Jacobs, one of the most aggressive bullies when it came to insulting and demeaning anyone who expressed an interest in a possible lab origin of COVID. Jacobs has apparently locked his account. Definitely not a paid shill.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

4 months

@garyruskin @UNC Does this mean that SARS-CoV-2 could be the intellectual property of Dr. Baric? Might every person in the world owe the good doctor a royalty check for replicating his intellectual property without prior authorization?

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@ban_epp_gofroc

15 days

Stu Neil thinks NYT should give Kristian Anders$n an opportunity to write an op/ed. Stu is apparently irate that NYT Opinion editors are not as credulous as NYT’s sci-comm stenographers Carl Zimmer and Ben Mueller, who hype any flawed study from Anders$n & friends as definitive.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

3 months

As with the Lancet letter, Daszak’s ego is too large for him not to offer a formal endorsement that makes clear other letter signatories are acting at his behest. This letter is about silencing critics of gain of function research of concern through meritless claims of misconduct

Bryce Nickels

@Bryce_Nickels

3 months

BREAKING: Peter Daszak just threw the weight of his entire organization -- EcoHealth Alliance --- behind the letter sent to Rutgers to try to silence Ebright and myself.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

12 days

I have been blocked by Chris Komatsu, another zoonosis zealot who enthusiastically lobbed insults and false claims. Komatsu claimed that BANAL-20-52 has a furin cleavage site in the spike protein but wouldn’t tell me where. Now I will never know…

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@ban_epp_gofroc

26 days

Stu Neil @stuartjdneil would have us believe the NIH and Daszak engaged in a coordinated effort to evade FOIA because people said mean things about them online. Were there nothing to hide, Daszak and NIH would have voluntarily released all info on their work with WIV in 2020.

Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic

@COVIDSelect

26 days

Did @NIH 's “FOIA lady” teach Dr. Fauci’s team how to hide COVID information? New evidence shows that NIH officials: ✖️Opened an encrypted Proton Mail account ✖️Misspelled key words ✖️Forwarded confidential materials to Gmail …all in an apparent effort to thwart federal law.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

2 months

@LawrenceGostin There is nothing more serious than observing proper biosafety practices when doing dangerous research with potential pandemic pathogens. Dr. Baric correctly pointed out that it insults our intelligence to claim such work can be safely done at BSL-2.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

4 months

Why have I been blocked by America’s national treasure, Dr. Peter Hotez? I’ve never interacted with him on Twitter/X. Did the good doctor take offense to one of my comments to @Bryce_Nickels that accurately noted Hotez funded a GOFROC paper that created a WIV1-SHC014 chimera?

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@ban_epp_gofroc

12 days

The disgraced, discredited, defunded, and soon to be debarred @PeterDaszak is again baselessly claiming that a lab origin of SARS-CoV-2 is a conspiracy theory. Daszak insults our intelligence by trying to sell us this load of BS.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

1 month

I’ve avoided commenting on the similarities between the initial outbreak of Ebola in West Africa in 2013-14 and SARS-CoV-2 in Wuhan in 2019. But @PeterHotez correctly notes they share many similarities—one of those is emergence 1,000 km away from typical spillover zone.

Bryce Nickels

@Bryce_Nickels

1 month

I do not understand why Hotez thinks comments like these help restore trust in science. If anything, he seems to be on a mission to destroy faith in our institutions just so he can sell his books and win awards.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

4 months

In response to Peter Daszak’s recent post, I replied with a list of forensic audit procedures that James LeDuc had recommended the Wuhan Institute of Virology undertake in order to prove or disprove a lab origin of SARS-CoV-2. Daszak promptly blocked me.

Libertarian_Virologist

@ban_epp_gofroc

4 months

@PeterDaszak Dr. Daszak is innocent! I also want to condemn noted conspiracy theorist James LeDuc for suggesting a set of forensic audit procedures that could be undertaken by the WIV to prove or disprove whether SARS2 originated at their lab. What ever happened to trust without verification?

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@ban_epp_gofroc

3 months

Does McNeil’s former employer @nytimes have any comment on this? Do they think it’s acceptable for a group of scientists to mislead their reporters on questions of considerable global importance?

Richard H. Ebright

@R_H_Ebright

3 months

"A former New York Times journalist…attacked…scientists for…misleading him over the Covid lab-leak theory in…early days of the pandemic. Donald McNeil…said their efforts to throw him 'off track'…contributed to the topic being 'dropped' for a year."

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@ban_epp_gofroc

14 days

Both of these articles should be on the front page of @nytimes . NYT Opinion has been vastly superior to NYT’s in-house science reporters Carl Zimmer and Ben Mueller—who act more like stenographers for the defunded and soon to be debarred @PeterDaszak .

Louis R Nemzer

@BiophysicsFL

14 days

So amazing to see in one image! @Ayjchan and @zeynep in today's @nytimes

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@ban_epp_gofroc

3 months

@JeremyFarrar Do you have a toolkit for how the public can respond to abuse from scientists who recklessly endanger public health through dangerous virus research under low biosafety conditions?

Libertarian_Virologist

@ban_epp_gofroc

3 months

What the WHO doesn’t say: research on SARS-CoV-2 under BSL-2 probably started in 2019.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

4 months

It is becoming quite clear that Pekar et al is, to use a phrase coined by Eddie Holmes, “confected nonsense.”

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@ban_epp_gofroc

2 months

I have been blocked by Isabella Eckerle, another zoonosis partisan who pretends to pose reasonable questions about why people believe in silly lab origin conspiracy theories and then blocks anyone who tries to offer a reasonable response.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

2 months

I have been blocked by Gigi Gronvall, who apparently grew tired of being asked why she makes excuses for Angela Rasmussen’s uncivil and insulting comments. Gronvall can also be counted upon to find all sorts of implausible reasons for opposing stronger biosafety regulations.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

2 months

Ralph Baric was aware of two unsuccessful efforts, in 2016, by scientists in China to build reverse genetics systems for SADS and for MERS. What other efforts to build reverse genetics systems in China might Baric know about? The committee did not directly ask. A mini 🧵

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@ban_epp_gofroc

2 months

Nice to see Ralph Baric confirming that the Pekar et al 2022 paper’s claim of two separate spillovers is nonsense. The discovery of unambiguous intermediate genomes and the massive errors in conception and execution in the paper ought to be grounds for the retraction of Pekar 22.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

4 months

Most life science PhDs have totally inadequate training in statistical methods. They did not understand the blizzard of p-values, fancy looking kernel density maps, and equations of Worobey/Pekar, but assumed they must be correct if published in Science.

Holtz

@Biorealism

4 months

Stoyan and Chiu: We attempted in vain to engage in discussion with the authors of Worobey et. al. We then learned that numerous serious researchers shared doubts about the paper from scientists’ perspectives. However, most of the criticism focused on the poor quality of the data

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@ban_epp_gofroc

1 month

I have constructed a heat map of geolocations of statues in Bagor, Wales that lost their heads. The centroid *does not* center on Dr. Zasdak’s home address, therefore he is not responsible. It’s pure coincidence no statues lost their heads during Dr. Z’s unjust incarceration.

Peter Za$dak (parody)

@zasdak

1 month

I’ve always admitted that we folks in virology enjoy our inside jokes, but this crosses a line. This image is spreading like wildfire among my colleagues, and all signs point to Edward—or as I like to call him, Twatward. Seems he’s stirring things up again.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

2 months

Stu Neil @stuartjdneil lobs speculative insults, failing to note the vast contrast between the recent H5N1 outbreak and SARS-CoV-2. Amazingly, H5N1 is readily found in cows, yet not a single animal anywhere in China tested positive for SARS2, a far more contagious virus.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

1 month

Why would Ralph Baric be interested in conducting research with the Wuhan Institute of Virology? Because he does not have access to interesting novel viruses. Why would WIV partner with Baric? He’s a master of reverse genetics and they aren’t. Like Walter White and Jesse Pinkman.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

4 months

Baric also pretended not to notice the BsmBI and BsaI restriction site pattern in SARS2 when he published his team published their reverse genetics system for SARS2. Implausible that he would miss such important details.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

3 months

If EcoHealth’s work is in the public record, where is the database of viruses collected by the Wuhan Institute of Virology, with help from US taxpayers? Why did they refuse to release their DEFUSE proposal?

EcoHealth Alliance

@EcoHealthNYC

3 months

EcoHealth Alliance Statement Regarding April 4, 2024 Announcement by the House Energy & Commerce Committee

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@ban_epp_gofroc

1 month

Stu Neil @stuartjdneil is outraged that EcoHealth is being held to account for systematic violations of the terms of its NIH grants. Any other grantee would have been defunded and debarred years ago, but a congressional inquiry was needed due to NIH refusing to enforce its rules.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

3 months

The results are in! Out of 94 votes cast, 95% voted that Hiltzik would block me rather than citing first hand quotes and tweets that document unprofessional behavior by Rasmussen and Neil. #HypocriteHiltzik

Libertarian_Virologist

@ban_epp_gofroc

3 months

I have informed @hiltzikm about the unprofessional conduct of letter signatories Rasmussen and Neil. I have provided links to first hand quotes of their posts on Twitter/X. Which of the following is more likely to be Hiltzik’s response?

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@ban_epp_gofroc

2 months

@emilyakopp @stgoldst is yet another supporter of gain of function virology who traffics in insults and ad hominem attacks as a substitute for carefully reasoned scientific arguments. If he had an actual rebuttal he’d state it clearly. He does not, so he mocks and belittles instead.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

2 months

17 of 19 potential restriction sites in SARS2 that were identified by @gadboit as being removed are exact nucleotide matches to BANAL-52 in those areas. These sites already silently mutated out of SARS2’s closest relatives, so their absence in SARS2 means nothing. A 🧵

Guy Gadboit

@gadboit

2 months

I've done another analysis on this which is a big win for a *natural* origin of SARS2's unusual restriction map. It is on similar lines to those done by Andersen and Crits-Cristoph, but we're focussing just on the RE sites that are apparently removed in...

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@ban_epp_gofroc

16 days

@COVIDSelect If the WIV1-SHC014 chimera does not constitute gain of function research of concerned or an enhanced potential pandemic pathogen, then nothing will. That is why it is essential that @COVIDSelect not allow Fauci to get away with such a preposterous lie. 14/

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@ban_epp_gofroc

3 months

Hiltzik emailing and giving a short deadline for response violates LA Times ethics guidelines which require “sufficient time and information to respond substantively.” Does Hiltzik enjoy an exemption from the @latimes ethics standards?

Bryce Nickels

@Bryce_Nickels

3 months

BREAKING NEWS: Are we on the brink of seeing the Los Angeles Times follow Science Magazine's example by publishing false and defamatory claims about Richard & me? At 2:45 EDT, I received the email below from reporter Michael Hilzik. I have until noon tomorrow to respond.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

2 months

A massive outbreak of H5N1 among cattle apparently has a single introduction, but we are to believe SARS-CoV-2 required separate spillovers of lineage A and B despite the discovery of unambiguous intermediate genomes. 🤡

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@ban_epp_gofroc

3 months

A good reminder on why it was absolutely appropriate for Justin Kinney to call out the reckless H5N1 research of the Kawaoka Lab in testimony to the Wisconsin Legislature.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

4 months

@MichaelWorobey @tgof137 Dr. Worobey, are you going to mention the significant execution error in Pekar 22, namely how a copy/paste coding error massively overstated the Bayes factor in the manuscript that was sent out for peer review? Would this paper have passed peer review with the correct BF?

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@ban_epp_gofroc

1 month

I have been blocked by obnoxious reply guy DKup. You can always count on DKup to post insulting and illogical comments, fail to understand any points made in reply, and to reply in turn with more insults.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

4 months

Gavin Yamey @GYamey has blocked me after I asked him if it was appropriate for Angela Rasmussen to call Alina Chan a “manipulative conspiracist” and a “mediocrity.” Apparently Yamey has very selective outrage when it comes to unprofessional attacks.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

2 months

@Bryce_Nickels I hope @COVIDSelect sees that Daszak continues to obfuscate and mislead in his tweets following the hearing. WIV provided no direct evidence to corroborate their claims, either during the WHO mission to China or following it.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

2 months

Why does Stu Neil @stuartjdneil expect the Democratic Party to help @PeterDaszak excuse and explain away his obvious undeclared conflicts of interest in the Lancet letter and his systemic non-compliance with the terms of his US taxpayer funded grants?

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@ban_epp_gofroc

4 months

Simply incredible to see @acritschristoph respond with such contempt and disrespect for Bloom. Bloom’s response was professional, measured, and courteous, all qualities CC has in increasingly short supply.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

3 months

This is unfortunately a typical example of lazy drive-by commentary we see on the topic of COVID origins from high follower accounts who have non-scientific backgrounds and are politically on the center-left (yes I know, not all…). Few know the Science papers are in free fall…

Samuel Hammond 🌐🏛

@hamandcheese

3 months

Great summary of Rootclaim's epic Covid19 origins debate. I had been leaning heavily toward lab leak but now think zoonotic origin is more likely, though more like 60-40 than 90-10. Most compelling were the rebuttals to the furin cleavage site, DEFUSE proposal, claims of

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@ban_epp_gofroc

2 months

Is @PeterDaszak really so brazen as to use his work email to scheme with other witnesses about how to delay and possibly obstruct the @COVIDSelect committee investigation? Is this not blatant Contempt of Congress?

Richard H. Ebright

@R_H_Ebright

2 months

Peter Daszaks' April 20, 2024 email message to anti-science, anti-public-interest activists Gerald Keusch and Peter Hotez.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

3 months

Without any sense of irony, @WendyOrent follows up an endorsement of Andersen et al’s hypocritical complaint letter with a tweet labeling a scientist “Queen of the lab leak grifters.” Orent must believe the obligation for civility only goes in one direction.

Bryce Nickels

@Bryce_Nickels

3 months

posted without comment

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@ban_epp_gofroc

2 months

Only college educated liberals still view a lab origin of COVID as some sort of ridiculous conspiracy theory. But that is precisely the group that dominates media, universities, and much of government, which is why formal efforts to investigate the origins of COVID have faltered.

Richard H. Ebright

@R_H_Ebright

2 months

"69% of American voters said SARS-CoV-2 came from a lab, while only 31% said it emerged naturally, according to the latest Deseret News/HarrisX poll."

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@ban_epp_gofroc

4 months

Stuart Neil had no basis to make such overconfident claims when W/P were published. The discovery of intermediate A/B genomes demolishes the two spillover hypothesis of Pekar, which was already on shaky ground after the correction of a significant coding error in the model.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

16 days

NIH staffers Jenny Greer and Erik Stemmy flagged EcoHealth’s proposed research as being subject to the 2014 gain of function moratorium, yet it was quickly allowed to go ahead under bespoke guidelines determined by EcoHealth. 2/

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@ban_epp_gofroc

2 months

Considering the possibility of an accidental lab release of SARS or a SARS-related virus is nothing more than crackpot conspiratorial ideation or anti-science aggression—except when @PeterHotez considers the possibility to get a government grant. #PeterHotezNationalTreasure

Hans Mahncke

@HansMahncke

2 months

Peter Hotez got a huge grant from Fauci to develop a vaccine in case of "accidental release from a laboratory or deliberate spreading" of a SARS virus. But when EXACTLY that happened, both Fauci and Hotez denied that it was even possible. What was all that money for then?

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@ban_epp_gofroc

2 months

Stu Neil @stuartjdneil expresses surprise that farmers oppose investigating disease outbreaks on their farms. But their opposition is nowhere near as intense as the opposition from virologists to investigate labs potentially tied to disease outbreaks.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

25 days

For Breaking Bad fans, New England Biolabs looks a lot like it’s filling the role of Madrigal Electromotive—key supplier of biotech required for making reverse genetics systems for Daszak/WIV. Is that why @PeterDaszak included Rich Roberts on his post-testimony email thread?

Libertarian_Virologist

@ban_epp_gofroc

1 month

@PeterDaszak @NEBiolabs @COVIDSelect One of the DEFUSE related emails obtained by @USRightToKnow @emilyakopp & @garyruskin contains line items for BsmBI and T4 DNA ligase to be ordered from @NEBiolabs —key ingredients required to assemble a full length virus genome from cDNA as part of a reverse genetics system.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

1 month

@DavidQuammen Do you think it’s normal for a supposed expert not to familiarize themselves with the relevant evidence? David, your self-disclosed friendship with @PeterDaszak appears to be clouding your judgment on the origins of COVID.

Bryce Nickels

@Bryce_Nickels

1 month

***BREAKING*** Virologist Susan Weiss admits she has not read the DEFUSE proposal, nor is she familiar with other information relevant to COVID origins.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

1 month

Is @PeterDaszak sending a signal to those attempting to throw him under the bus that he will not go down quietly? Might David Morens know more than he’s let on about the delayed Year 5 progress report? Are there more shoes to drop regarding DEFUSE? 🍿

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@ban_epp_gofroc

2 months

It seems that Stu Neil @stuartjdneil may have yet another reason to privately regret his very public support for @PeterDaszak . (h/t @Florin_Uncovers )

Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic

@COVIDSelect

2 months

“Each day of delay helps." This was a tactic endorsed by EcoHealth Alliance President Dr. Peter Daszak and employed by Dr. Morens and his team in an effort to postpone Dr. Morens's public testimony until after Dr. Fauci's public hearing. See NEW email evidence👇

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@ban_epp_gofroc

4 months

Now Dr. Rasmussen suggests that Chan may have committed “misconduct,” which is a very serious allegation that she either needs to substantiate or withdraw. Dr. Rasmussen also does not appear to appreciate being asked to justify her insults of a junior colleague.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

2 months

Gain of function virologists and their supporters frequently complain they face harassment. But the fastest way to get blocked by such people on X is to ask them if they support abusive comments from those such as Stu Neil @stuartjdneil and Angela Rasmussen @angie_rasmussen . A 🧵

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@ban_epp_gofroc

25 days

I fear for the future of science if we are producing PhDs who somehow think that witnesses scheming behind the scenes to obstruct a congressional investigation is legally permissible.

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Libertarian_Virologist

@ban_epp_gofroc

2 months

@PeterDaszak claims NIH ignored his requests for help when he could not submit his 2019 grant progress report on time. But when this same grant was suspended, Daszak had no problem getting in touch with senior NIH leadership for advice on how to get the grant reinstated.

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Libertarian_Virologist

@ban_epp_gofroc

15 days

@JeremyFarrar Dr. Farrar, when are you going to ask the WHO to remove this infamous piece of misinformation?

World Health Organization (WHO)

@WHO

4 years

FACT: #COVID19 is NOT airborne. The #coronavirus is mainly transmitted through droplets generated when an infected person coughs, sneezes or speaks. To protect yourself: -keep 1m distance from others -disinfect surfaces frequently -wash/rub your 👐 -avoid touching your 👀👃👄

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@ban_epp_gofroc

3 months

Advocates of civility in science like @stuartjdneil @GYamey @BenFPiercePhD @_b_meyer @MichaelWorobey refuse to answer a very simple question: it is ok for Angela Rasmussen to call another scientist a “manipulative conspiracist” and “mediocrity” and accuse her of misconduct?

Libertarian_Virologist

@ban_epp_gofroc

4 months

Dr. Angela Rasmussen replies to my comment about her calling Alina Chan a “manipulative conspiracist” and “mediocrity” to explain it’s actually ok for her to insult and demean a junior scientist.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

3 months

Back when the Lancet letter and Proximal Origins still held sway, Peter Daszak could tweet links to stories that discussed the very likely fact that there was no zoonosis at Huanan market.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

2 months

Pekar et al co-author @niemasd regards those who ask him to correct the conceptual and execution errors in the paper’s phylogenetic analysis as trolls. That’s probably why he blocked @nizzaneela and refused to give them credit for discovering a major coding error in the paper.

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Libertarian_Virologist

@ban_epp_gofroc

1 month

@stgoldst @BiophysicsFL @simon_gordon_ Given how you smeared @emilyakopp in a quote to @politico , do you now think it speaks well about your personal ethics that you never reported a senior NIH official who openly bragged about defying the law?

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@ban_epp_gofroc

1 month

This tweet reads like satire, but sadly it is not.

(((Wendy Orent)))

@WendyOrent

1 month

@simon_gordon_ Have you read Michael Worobey's dispositive piece on this?

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@ban_epp_gofroc

2 months

@MJnanostretch The Democratic counsel’s questions around EHA downplaying the risk of WIV1 was extraordinarily damning for Daszak. It showed Daszak’s dishonesty and disregard for biosafety.

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Libertarian_Virologist

@ban_epp_gofroc

2 months

Almost to a person, fanatical zoonosis partisans insisted COVID was not airborne. Only the most dishonest or dimwitted could deny this after the Diamond Princess and Washington state church choir outbreaks in early 2020.

Kimberly Prather, Ph.D.

@kprather88

2 months

Trying to understand breakdowns in communication during the pandemic. We tried to write a publication with Saskia Popescu and Angie Rasmussen. They backed out when I refused to eliminate the word "airborne". Here are their exact words: "We believed that the goal of this" (1/)

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@ban_epp_gofroc

4 months

Can anyone imagine the reaction if the chair of the Challenger Commission or the 9/11 Commission posed for a joking photo about the subject of their investigation? Could not be clearer that both the pandemic and biosafety are just a big joke to many in the field.

Bryce Nickels

@Bryce_Nickels

4 months

If the co-chair of the Pathogens Project is willing to go along with this "joke," you can rest assured virologists will conclude every new ambiguous disease outbreak is zoonosis.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

16 days

The 2014 moratorium in effect at the time defined “gain of function” as follows. Note that the letter from Stemmy and Greer links to this same document. 3/

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Libertarian_Virologist

@ban_epp_gofroc

4 months

~2 years ago, Worobey suggested it was inappropriate to allow David Relman to present on COVID origins hypotheses at a conference. Shutting down debate and discussion of plausible hypotheses is a characteristic attribute of politics, not science.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

2 months

@WendyOrent The origins of COVID have nothing to do with US partisan politics. Reverse genetics is real. DEFUSE was proposed by Daszak, Baric, and WIV. Daszak just today admitted WIV had a huge number of unpublished CoVs

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Libertarian_Virologist

@ban_epp_gofroc

2 months

Petty offences and anti-social behaviour in one’s younger years should not shadow a person their entire life—but this individual clearly has an appetite for deception and transgressive behaviour—and has simply found a new outlet for it.

L

@SomeBitchIIKnow

2 months

When Peter Daszak was a 21-year-old Zoology student, he plead guilty to theft and burglary charges and was sent to a detention center for four months. Daszak beheaded a statue of the Madonna, put lips on it, and kept it as a trophy. He also stole numerous beacons and signs.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

4 months

@ScienceMagazine @statnews Thorp stands out for his lack of ethics and lack of commitment to the scientific method. Thorp will move mountains to publish papers with invalid statistical inference (Worobey) and massive coding errors (Pekar) if they support conclusions he desires for political reasons.

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Libertarian_Virologist

@ban_epp_gofroc

2 months

No surprise that #CrookedCohen was party to David Morens’ private efforts to defend Peter Daszak. Cohen acts the part of an independent journalist but his private communications show he functions more like an unacknowledged PR agent of the NIH.

CD8

@CD57227

2 months

@emilyakopp Oh, look, Jon Cohen is in there, too! "Jon, Joel Breman.. called me today to ask me to bring to your attention the two publications.. which defend the work of Peter and Chinese colleagues" "Yes, I read. Many thanks to all of you."

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Libertarian_Virologist

@ban_epp_gofroc

2 months

I’ve finally gotten blocked by one of the most obnoxious zoonosis troll reply guys. He frequently shows up to insult and mock scientists who attempt to discuss the possibility of a lab origin of COVID, but when pressed demonstrates no knowledge of the topic whatsoever.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

25 days

“It’s fundamental science about what makes or doesn’t make a virus transmit” @profvrr gave away the game a long time ago that gain of function research of concern is not and has never been about predicting pandemics, vaccines, or disease treatments. That’s worth a pandemic?

CD8

@CD57227

2 years

@harishseshadri2 @BiophysicsFL @emilyakopp @HillTVLive "The real value is that the experiments provide structural information about what you need for transmission. It doesn't have to project the next pandemic. It doesn't have to make a vaccine." Racaniello @ NSABB, Jan 23rd, 2020 [@ 2:32:00]

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@ban_epp_gofroc

3 months

PSA: if you have any complaints about the behavior of any of the signatories of the recent letter to Rutgers, do not attempt to send them to @sciencecohen . Given his previous behavior it is not out of the question that such complaints will be sent verbatim to Kristian Andersen.

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@ban_epp_gofroc

4 months

@DrHermiz @dr_handler PR Jacobs lies again. Dr. Shi said in 2020, “We have done bat virus surveillance in Hubei Province for many years, but have not found that bats in Wuhan or even the wider Hubei Province carry any coronaviruses that are closely related to SARS-CoV-2.”

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@ban_epp_gofroc

1 month

@BenFPiercePhD @COVIDSelect Ben, all you are doing here is demonstrating to Congress that your profession is irresponsible, untrustworthy, and incapable of self regulation.

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Libertarian_Virologist

@ban_epp_gofroc

2 months

Apparently it does not trouble Gavin Yamey @GYamey that *none* of the scientists with knowledge of DEFUSE or who were part of the proposal expressed any doubt over their decision to conceal the proposal from the public.

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