Department of Immunobiology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA.
University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
J Virol. 2024 Sep 17;98(9):e0124024. doi: 10.1128/jvi.01240-24. Epub 2024 Aug 1.
Science is humanity's best insurance against threats from nature, but it is a fragile enterprise that must be nourished and protected. The preponderance of scientific evidence indicates a natural origin for SARS-CoV-2. Yet, the theory that SARS-CoV-2 was engineered in and escaped from a lab dominates media attention, even in the absence of strong evidence. We discuss how the resulting anti-science movement puts the research community, scientific research, and pandemic preparedness at risk.
科学是人类应对来自自然界威胁的最佳保障,但它是一项脆弱的事业,必须得到滋养和保护。压倒性的科学证据表明,SARS-CoV-2 是自然起源的。然而,SARS-CoV-2 是在实验室中设计并逃逸出来的理论主导了媒体的关注,即使没有强有力的证据。我们讨论了由此产生的反科学运动如何使研究界、科学研究和大流行病防范面临风险。