Chinese scientists at the Beijing University of Chemical Technology have experimented with a mutated corona variant that always causes death in animal experiments.
According to the Daily Mail, the Beijing researchers, who are in contact with the Chinese military, had cloned a corona-like virus. This was discovered in pangolins in 2017 and is called GX_P2V. The researchers then used the cloned virus to infect mice.
To find out how people react to GX_P2V, they had previously humanized the rodents. This means that the mice were genetically engineered to carry a protein found in humans.
Chinese researchers are experimenting with coronavirus variants on mice
The result: Every rodent that was infected with the virus died within eight days – “surprisingly” quickly, the researchers said in the as yet unpublished research report. The mice had previously shown different symptoms. Her eyes had turned completely white, they had quickly lost weight and had become sluggish.
The scientists were also surprised that the viral load was high in the mice’s brains and eyes. As a result, the mice’s brains also shrank.
According to the researchers, this suggests that the virus reproduces and spreads throughout the body in a unique way. Apparently the mice became infected through the respiratory tract, after which the virus reached the brain. In severe cases, Covid-19, on the other hand, only causes pneumonia.
The brain inflammation was ultimately fatal for the mice, the researchers write. Their results would suggest the risk that “the pangolin coronavirus, which is related to Sars-CoV-2, could also be transmitted to humans.”
Scientists sharply criticize experiments and doubt safety precautions
This study, the timing of which is unknown, has caused enormous criticism in the research world. Francois Balloux, professor of infectious diseases at University College London, wrote on “X” (formerly Twitter): “It’s a terrible study, scientifically totally pointless.” He doesn’t understand what comes from forcibly infecting a strange breed of humanized mice could learn from any virus. “On the other hand, I can see how something like this could go wrong.”
Richard Ebright, a chemist at Rutgers University in New Brunswick (USA), also agreed with his opinion. He further criticized the fact that the scientists did not provide any information about the biosafety precautions taken during the investigation.
“The lack of this information raises the worrying possibility that some or all of the investigation – like the research in Wuhan in 2016 to 2019 that likely triggered the Covid-19 pandemic – was carried out recklessly without even the slightest biosecurity measures in place research into potentially pandemic viruses is essential,” says Ebright to the Daily Mail.
The study has not yet been scientifically tested
The study by the Chinese researchers is a preprint. This means that the study has not yet been reviewed and checked by other scientists who were not involved in the investigation. Validation of the results is still pending.