zhihuachen.bsky.social
@zhihuachen.bsky.social
Reposted by zhihuachen.bsky.social
This is genuinely horrifying. Fact-free far-right agitprop given accolades by credible media across the political spectrum.
Congratulations to Stephen Macedo & Frances Lee, whose book In Covid's Wake has been recognized as:
⭐ A @newyorker.com Best Book of the Year
⭐ An @economist.com Book of the Year
⭐ A @wsj.com Best Book of the Year
Learn more about this eye-opening book: press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
⭐ A @newyorker.com Best Book of the Year
⭐ An @economist.com Book of the Year
⭐ A @wsj.com Best Book of the Year
Learn more about this eye-opening book: press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
December 24, 2025 at 5:00 AM
This is genuinely horrifying. Fact-free far-right agitprop given accolades by credible media across the political spectrum.
Reposted by zhihuachen.bsky.social
This is where their "smoking gun" quote comes from — I can see why they left out the details since it's citing a fraudulent preprint and some other miscellaneous bits of Intelligent Design logic.
December 24, 2025 at 6:24 PM
This is where their "smoking gun" quote comes from — I can see why they left out the details since it's citing a fraudulent preprint and some other miscellaneous bits of Intelligent Design logic.
Reposted by zhihuachen.bsky.social
Not just fact free; what appear as facts are not what they appear to be when you check the references. Are these quotes from DEFUSE? Nope. They're quotes from @katherineeban.bsky.social inaccurately summarizing DEFUSE.
December 24, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Not just fact free; what appear as facts are not what they appear to be when you check the references. Are these quotes from DEFUSE? Nope. They're quotes from @katherineeban.bsky.social inaccurately summarizing DEFUSE.
Reposted by zhihuachen.bsky.social
"...the only reflections in the lake were a slash of causeway, a dot of pavilion, a mustard seed of a boat and the two or three specks of ourselves aboard it."
Snow, and the Heart of the Lake
Like three and a half translations of Liu Zongyuan that I don't like, and one of Zhang Dai that I do.
www.burninghou.se
December 15, 2025 at 7:28 PM
"...the only reflections in the lake were a slash of causeway, a dot of pavilion, a mustard seed of a boat and the two or three specks of ourselves aboard it."
Reposted by zhihuachen.bsky.social
It's worth re-reading the Economist article and seeing how many colleagues were badly duped by the paper: archive.md/RTEQT (archive link from before the title was changed to be less embarrassing).
December 14, 2025 at 10:23 PM
It's worth re-reading the Economist article and seeing how many colleagues were badly duped by the paper: archive.md/RTEQT (archive link from before the title was changed to be less embarrassing).
Reposted by zhihuachen.bsky.social
What's nuts is the fact that the NYTimes *completely* fails to mention the utter insanity of her many many conspiracy theories - from COVID origins, over fires in Hong Kong, to Maduro.
One quick look at her socials and the reader would immediately understand her better than the NYTimes article.
One quick look at her socials and the reader would immediately understand her better than the NYTimes article.
December 9, 2025 at 1:24 AM
What's nuts is the fact that the NYTimes *completely* fails to mention the utter insanity of her many many conspiracy theories - from COVID origins, over fires in Hong Kong, to Maduro.
One quick look at her socials and the reader would immediately understand her better than the NYTimes article.
One quick look at her socials and the reader would immediately understand her better than the NYTimes article.
And my kid in her Chinese class. 😆😆
I swear, I remembered her drawing the boat somewhere …
I swear, I remembered her drawing the boat somewhere …
December 10, 2025 at 8:01 PM
And my kid in her Chinese class. 😆😆
I swear, I remembered her drawing the boat somewhere …
I swear, I remembered her drawing the boat somewhere …
Reposted by zhihuachen.bsky.social
late night Liu Zongyuan draft:
千山鳥飛絕 萬徑人蹤滅
孤舟簑笠翁 獨釣寒江雪
a thousand mountains and not one bird in flight
a million trails and not so much as a footprint
lone boat rush cloak reed hat: an old man
fishes alone in the freezing river for snow
千山鳥飛絕 萬徑人蹤滅
孤舟簑笠翁 獨釣寒江雪
a thousand mountains and not one bird in flight
a million trails and not so much as a footprint
lone boat rush cloak reed hat: an old man
fishes alone in the freezing river for snow
December 10, 2025 at 9:23 AM
late night Liu Zongyuan draft:
千山鳥飛絕 萬徑人蹤滅
孤舟簑笠翁 獨釣寒江雪
a thousand mountains and not one bird in flight
a million trails and not so much as a footprint
lone boat rush cloak reed hat: an old man
fishes alone in the freezing river for snow
千山鳥飛絕 萬徑人蹤滅
孤舟簑笠翁 獨釣寒江雪
a thousand mountains and not one bird in flight
a million trails and not so much as a footprint
lone boat rush cloak reed hat: an old man
fishes alone in the freezing river for snow
Reposted by zhihuachen.bsky.social
It’s nuts, and Yan Li-Meng is broken, but she bears responsibility for the path she chose to venture down.
December 8, 2025 at 5:23 AM
It’s nuts, and Yan Li-Meng is broken, but she bears responsibility for the path she chose to venture down.
Reposted by zhihuachen.bsky.social
It's just crazy how this entire viral story was because someone made up a sequencing date that wasn't true.
And the thing is, they may have almost got away with it!
When something is a (partially) unsolved mystery for years, you risk losing the chance to ever solve it....
And the thing is, they may have almost got away with it!
When something is a (partially) unsolved mystery for years, you risk losing the chance to ever solve it....
December 4, 2025 at 3:05 AM
It's just crazy how this entire viral story was because someone made up a sequencing date that wasn't true.
And the thing is, they may have almost got away with it!
When something is a (partially) unsolved mystery for years, you risk losing the chance to ever solve it....
And the thing is, they may have almost got away with it!
When something is a (partially) unsolved mystery for years, you risk losing the chance to ever solve it....
Reposted by zhihuachen.bsky.social
Are you familiar with the story of the Antarctica sequences?
If not, good for you: you didn't clutter your brain with yet another Covid-origin damp squib, where innocuous data were made to look suspicious by misrepresenting a date.
For the curious, here's the story. ▫️1/9 🧵 #CovidOrigin
If not, good for you: you didn't clutter your brain with yet another Covid-origin damp squib, where innocuous data were made to look suspicious by misrepresenting a date.
For the curious, here's the story. ▫️1/9 🧵 #CovidOrigin
December 3, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Are you familiar with the story of the Antarctica sequences?
If not, good for you: you didn't clutter your brain with yet another Covid-origin damp squib, where innocuous data were made to look suspicious by misrepresenting a date.
For the curious, here's the story. ▫️1/9 🧵 #CovidOrigin
If not, good for you: you didn't clutter your brain with yet another Covid-origin damp squib, where innocuous data were made to look suspicious by misrepresenting a date.
For the curious, here's the story. ▫️1/9 🧵 #CovidOrigin
Reposted by zhihuachen.bsky.social
"SARS-CoV-2 is too well-adapted to humans [hence, insert your favorite conspiracy theory]".
That was never right because, for one, SARS-CoV-2 is a pandemic virus so it necessarily had to be "well-adapted".
Now, a new study shows the same is true for BANAL-236 - a related virus isolated from bats.
That was never right because, for one, SARS-CoV-2 is a pandemic virus so it necessarily had to be "well-adapted".
Now, a new study shows the same is true for BANAL-236 - a related virus isolated from bats.
November 10, 2025 at 8:09 PM
"SARS-CoV-2 is too well-adapted to humans [hence, insert your favorite conspiracy theory]".
That was never right because, for one, SARS-CoV-2 is a pandemic virus so it necessarily had to be "well-adapted".
Now, a new study shows the same is true for BANAL-236 - a related virus isolated from bats.
That was never right because, for one, SARS-CoV-2 is a pandemic virus so it necessarily had to be "well-adapted".
Now, a new study shows the same is true for BANAL-236 - a related virus isolated from bats.
Reposted by zhihuachen.bsky.social
November 9, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Reposted by zhihuachen.bsky.social
Two weeks ago, a paper came out, claiming that the 2019 Brucella leak in Lanzhou, China, could have been detected months before it was publicly reported.
Problem: no proof was provided to support this extraordinary claim, as we explain in a letter to the editor.
Details follow ▫️1/6🧵
Problem: no proof was provided to support this extraordinary claim, as we explain in a letter to the editor.
Details follow ▫️1/6🧵
Correspondence regarding “Geospatial analysis of open-source intelligence data to early detect laboratory-acquired infections, using the 2019 brucellosis laboratory leak in China as a case study” - In...
Infection -
link.springer.com
November 3, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Two weeks ago, a paper came out, claiming that the 2019 Brucella leak in Lanzhou, China, could have been detected months before it was publicly reported.
Problem: no proof was provided to support this extraordinary claim, as we explain in a letter to the editor.
Details follow ▫️1/6🧵
Problem: no proof was provided to support this extraordinary claim, as we explain in a letter to the editor.
Details follow ▫️1/6🧵
Reposted by zhihuachen.bsky.social
“Furin cleavage site”, that is. Just casually, and naturally, sitting there in one of the most evolutionarily active parts of the genome.
Mystery solved.
Mystery solved.
CIDRAP: New coronavirus subspecies with SARS-CoV-2–like mutation discovered in Brazilian bat
by Mary Van Beusekom
@cidrap.bsky.social
bit.ly/4hHRfam
by Mary Van Beusekom
@cidrap.bsky.social
bit.ly/4hHRfam
November 1, 2025 at 6:15 PM
“Furin cleavage site”, that is. Just casually, and naturally, sitting there in one of the most evolutionarily active parts of the genome.
Mystery solved.
Mystery solved.
Reposted by zhihuachen.bsky.social
Maybe an even more inside baseball in these documents -- but it's key:
No mention of furin cleavage site in the slides...
which matches a remark made by Peter Daszak in an email to David Morens in May 2021, made public by FOIA ▫️1/8
#CovidOrigin
www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/u...
No mention of furin cleavage site in the slides...
which matches a remark made by Peter Daszak in an email to David Morens in May 2021, made public by FOIA ▫️1/8
#CovidOrigin
www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/u...
October 31, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Maybe an even more inside baseball in these documents -- but it's key:
No mention of furin cleavage site in the slides...
which matches a remark made by Peter Daszak in an email to David Morens in May 2021, made public by FOIA ▫️1/8
#CovidOrigin
www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/u...
No mention of furin cleavage site in the slides...
which matches a remark made by Peter Daszak in an email to David Morens in May 2021, made public by FOIA ▫️1/8
#CovidOrigin
www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/u...
Reposted by zhihuachen.bsky.social
This isn't an isolated case. It's part of a pattern.
The "synthetic fingerprint" hypothesis requires omitting contradictory data such as RpYN06.
Worse, authors knew about this contradictory data a month and a half *before* they even published their preprint.
The "synthetic fingerprint" hypothesis requires omitting contradictory data such as RpYN06.
Worse, authors knew about this contradictory data a month and a half *before* they even published their preprint.
October 29, 2025 at 7:32 AM
This isn't an isolated case. It's part of a pattern.
The "synthetic fingerprint" hypothesis requires omitting contradictory data such as RpYN06.
Worse, authors knew about this contradictory data a month and a half *before* they even published their preprint.
The "synthetic fingerprint" hypothesis requires omitting contradictory data such as RpYN06.
Worse, authors knew about this contradictory data a month and a half *before* they even published their preprint.
Reposted by zhihuachen.bsky.social
🧵Remember the preprint claiming SARS-CoV-2 has a "synthetic fingerprint"?
It said a restriction map was "extremely unlikely to have arisen by random evolution.”
I took its claims seriously.
The "synthetic fingerprint" hypothesis collapses. My new preprint explains why.
arxiv.org/abs/2510.23833
It said a restriction map was "extremely unlikely to have arisen by random evolution.”
I took its claims seriously.
The "synthetic fingerprint" hypothesis collapses. My new preprint explains why.
arxiv.org/abs/2510.23833
October 29, 2025 at 7:32 AM
🧵Remember the preprint claiming SARS-CoV-2 has a "synthetic fingerprint"?
It said a restriction map was "extremely unlikely to have arisen by random evolution.”
I took its claims seriously.
The "synthetic fingerprint" hypothesis collapses. My new preprint explains why.
arxiv.org/abs/2510.23833
It said a restriction map was "extremely unlikely to have arisen by random evolution.”
I took its claims seriously.
The "synthetic fingerprint" hypothesis collapses. My new preprint explains why.
arxiv.org/abs/2510.23833
Reposted by zhihuachen.bsky.social
I really enjoyed this podcast with @cohenjon.bsky.social where he talks about his recent book and the broader, often strange, world of infectious diseases.
With so many non-science journalists opining on topics they know little about, this is a breath of fresh air!
www.kqed.org/forum/201010...
With so many non-science journalists opining on topics they know little about, this is a breath of fresh air!
www.kqed.org/forum/201010...
Science Journalist Jon Cohen on Preventing the Next Pandemic | KQED
We talk to about overcoming denialism and what scientists around the world are doing to keep the most dangerous pathogens at bay.
www.kqed.org
October 22, 2025 at 10:44 PM
I really enjoyed this podcast with @cohenjon.bsky.social where he talks about his recent book and the broader, often strange, world of infectious diseases.
With so many non-science journalists opining on topics they know little about, this is a breath of fresh air!
www.kqed.org/forum/201010...
With so many non-science journalists opining on topics they know little about, this is a breath of fresh air!
www.kqed.org/forum/201010...
Reposted by zhihuachen.bsky.social
I am fascinated by how viruses evolve - and not just since #SARSCoV2 has shown us at the global stage how consequential virus evolution can be for us.
In my new story in @science.org I got to explore how researchers are probing deeper into the past with old RNA virus genome.
So a 🧪 thread…
In my new story in @science.org I got to explore how researchers are probing deeper into the past with old RNA virus genome.
So a 🧪 thread…
On an Arctic archipelago, frozen soil may preserve a hidden history of viruses
Scientists are hunting for ancient RNA in Svalbard’s permafrost, hoping to shed light on the evolution of viral diseases
www.science.org
October 18, 2025 at 10:02 AM
I am fascinated by how viruses evolve - and not just since #SARSCoV2 has shown us at the global stage how consequential virus evolution can be for us.
In my new story in @science.org I got to explore how researchers are probing deeper into the past with old RNA virus genome.
So a 🧪 thread…
In my new story in @science.org I got to explore how researchers are probing deeper into the past with old RNA virus genome.
So a 🧪 thread…
Reposted by zhihuachen.bsky.social
Here’s an op-ed I wrote arguing to get back to a focus on the relevant facts when it comes to pandemic origins.
I wrote it in response to a debate that’s played out over the last year in Norwegian media that rarely slows down to check what’s true and false.
I wrote it in response to a debate that’s played out over the last year in Norwegian media that rarely slows down to check what’s true and false.
October 1, 2025 at 9:14 AM
Here’s an op-ed I wrote arguing to get back to a focus on the relevant facts when it comes to pandemic origins.
I wrote it in response to a debate that’s played out over the last year in Norwegian media that rarely slows down to check what’s true and false.
I wrote it in response to a debate that’s played out over the last year in Norwegian media that rarely slows down to check what’s true and false.
Reposted by zhihuachen.bsky.social
This guy spent his entire life online and the authorities haven't released one detail about his online activities. Now why is that?
September 14, 2025 at 5:13 PM
This guy spent his entire life online and the authorities haven't released one detail about his online activities. Now why is that?
Reposted by zhihuachen.bsky.social
I'm hearing a lot of assertions from public officials that Robinson definitely had a left-wing ideological motivation. However, this is coming from folks who have an agenda of their own. I am keeping an open mind and waiting to see what kind of evidence is presented to support this characterization.
September 15, 2025 at 4:36 PM
I'm hearing a lot of assertions from public officials that Robinson definitely had a left-wing ideological motivation. However, this is coming from folks who have an agenda of their own. I am keeping an open mind and waiting to see what kind of evidence is presented to support this characterization.
Reposted by zhihuachen.bsky.social
Free speech update...
Charlie Kirk's allies warn Americans: Mourn him properly or else reut.rs/3JYLkkp
Charlie Kirk's allies warn Americans: Mourn him properly or else
After the fatal shooting of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk, U.S. Republicans have a warning for Americans: Mourn him respectfully or suffer the consequences.
reut.rs
September 13, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Free speech update...