ePPPisode 23: Memory Holes and Bottlenecks

In breaking news this week, the NIH submitted a letter to Congress implicating its role in funding alleged gain-of-function research, carried out at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, resulting in the creation of an exponentially more contagious virus with features similar to SARS-CoV-2. We reconstruct a timeline of the events—including a prior EcoHealth Alliance proposal to engineer SARS-CoV-2-sounding viruses and vaccinate wild bats—and ask: what did the NIH know and when did the NIH know it? We also report on the fact that, according to the NIH’s website as of last week, gain-of-function research has never existed; but a totally different [and we’re super careful about it] kind of research, called ePPP research, has. Then, in our-supply-chain-is-broken news, we discuss how the ongoing shipping bottleneck is a problem created by demand… for over-regulation. 

Mentioned on the Show:

The Bare Minimum of Accountability: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/10/nih-admits-funding-risky-virus-research-in-wuhan 

Herd Immunity Doesn’t Exist and Neither Does Gain-of-Function:

https://twitter.com/jeremyredfernfl/status/1451565600673828869?s=12 

Supply Chain Bottleneck Problems and Solutions: 

https://twitter.com/typesfast/status/1451543776992845834 

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