EIGHTEEN MONTHS AGO, Alina Chan co-wrote an explosive paper that sought investigation of the possibility that Covid-19 was caused by a virus from a laboratory in China. Chan is a postdoctoral fellow at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. On Twitter she ignited a debate on the pandemic’s origin and received death threats. Last November, with biologist Matt Ridley, she wrote a book, Viral: The Search for the Origin of Covid-19. Now, all she hopes to do is walk into obscurity and lead a normal life. Excerpts from an interview:
Q/ We still have no headway as to the origin of Covid-19.
A/ We are on the brink of having some real investigations. The China-WHO joint study cannot be called an investigation. Once a real and unbiased investigation begins, we will be able to see early papers, emails, documents being shared in the early days of the pandemic, or even in the years leading up to the pandemic.
Q/ You said you would change your name after the book is published and would go into obscurity. Do you fear for your life?
A/ Both Matt (co-author) and I are aware that this book would offend a lot of powerful people. The Chinese government surely does not like this book; nor do top scientists who do a lot of virus collection and gain-of-function research experiments that could potentially enhance viruses in the lab and cause them to become pandemic pathogens. They have consistently pushed back against the lab leak hypothesis since day one in January 2020 and called it a conspiracy theory. They bully and harass the scientists who don’t toe their line.
Denne historien er fra January 23, 2022-utgaven av THE WEEK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra January 23, 2022-utgaven av THE WEEK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Trump And The Crisis Of Liberalism
Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.
Men eye the woman's purse
A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.
When trees hold hands
A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges
Ms Gee & Gen Z
The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.
Superman bites the dust
When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.
