- NEWS EXPLAINER
Nature examines arguments that the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 escaped from a lab in China, and the science behind them.
- By
- Amy Maxmen &
- Smriti Mallapaty
- Amy Maxmen
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
- Smriti Mallapaty
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
Debate over the idea that the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus emerged from a laboratory has escalated over the past few weeks, coinciding with the annual World Health Assembly, at which the World Health Organization (WHO) and officials from nearly 200 countries discussed the COVID-19 pandemic. After last year’s assembly, the WHO agreed to sponsor the first phase of an investigation into the pandemic’s origins, which took place in China in early 2021.
Access options
Change institution
Buy or subscribe
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
£14.99 /30days
cancel any time
Learn more
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
£199.00 per year
only £3.90 per issue
Learn more
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Learn more
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Nature 594, 313-315 (2021)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-01529-3
References
The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness & Response COVID-19: Make it the Last Pandemic (Independent Panel, 2021).
Huang, Y. in Learning from SARS: Preparing for the Next Disease Outbreak: Workshop Summary (eds Knobler, S. et al.) (National Academies Press, 2004).
Zhou P. et al. Nature 579, 270–273 (2020).
Lytras, S. et al. Preprint at bioRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.01.22.427830 (2021).
Xiao, X. et al. Sci. Rep. 11, 11898 (2021).
Andersen, K. G. et al. Nature Med. 26, 450–452 (2020).
Wu, Y. & Zhao, S. Stem Cell Res. 50, 102115 (2020).
Peaco*ck, T. P. et al. Preprint at bioRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.05.28.446163 (2021).
Zhou, P. et al. Nature 588, E6 (2020).
Guo, H. et al. Preprint at bioRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.05.21.445091 (2021).
Related Articles
-
Divisive COVID ‘lab leak’ debate prompts dire warnings from researchers
-
WHO report into COVID pandemic origins zeroes in on animal markets, not labs
-
‘Major stones unturned’: COVID origin search must continue after WHO report, say scientists
-
After the WHO report: what’s next in the search for COVID’s origins
-
The biggest mystery: what it will take to trace the coronavirus source
Subjects
- Public health
- Epidemiology
- Diseases
- Politics
- SARS-CoV-2
Latest on:
Jobs
-
Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Warmly Welcomes Talents Abroad
“Qiushi” Distinguished Scholar, Zhejiang University, including Professor and Physician
No. 3, Qingchun East Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang (CN)
Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital Affiliated with Zhejiang University School of Medicine
-
Associate Editor, Nature Briefing
Associate Editor, Nature Briefing Permanent, full time Location: London, UK Closing date: 10th June 2024 Nature, the world’s most authoritative s...
London (Central), London (Greater) (GB)
Springer Nature Ltd
-
Professor, Division Director, Translational and Clinical Pharmacology
Cincinnati Children’s seeks a director of the Division of Translational and Clinical Pharmacology.
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati Children's Hospital & Medical Center
-
Data Analyst for Gene Regulation as an Academic Functional Specialist
The Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn is an international research university with a broad spectrum of subjects. With 200 years of his...
53113, Bonn (DE)
Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität
-
Recruitment of Global Talent at the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOZ, CAS)
The Institute of Zoology (IOZ), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), is seeking global talents around the world.
Beijing, China
Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOZ, CAS)
Change institution
Buy or subscribe
Related Articles
-
Divisive COVID ‘lab leak’ debate prompts dire warnings from researchers
-
WHO report into COVID pandemic origins zeroes in on animal markets, not labs
-
‘Major stones unturned’: COVID origin search must continue after WHO report, say scientists
-
After the WHO report: what’s next in the search for COVID’s origins
-
The biggest mystery: what it will take to trace the coronavirus source
Subjects
- Public health
- Epidemiology
- Diseases
- Politics
- SARS-CoV-2
Sign up to Nature Briefing
An essential round-up of science news, opinion and analysis, delivered to your inbox every weekday.
