Three deadly human coronaviruses have emerged within the past two decades: SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and the current SARS-CoV-2. Disease detectives can spend years trying to figure out where a virus came from, with the hopes of preventing a future pandemic.

All three coronaviruses are thought to have originated from bats and passed through another animal before infecting humans. It took scientists more than 10 years to find the intermediate host for SARS-CoV (palm civets) and more than a year for MERS-CoV (camels). Scientists have yet to find the origins of SARS-CoV-2, although pangolins may be the host.

But the claim that the virus leaked from a virology lab in Wuhan, China has been getting a lot more attention lately. The idea had largely been dismissed early on partly because the claim was wrapped up in xenophobia, racism and bioterrorism conspiracies. But now several scientists have stepped forward to say that an accidental lab leak should be considered alongside the idea that it naturally jumped from animals to humans, and U.S. President Joe Biden has called on U.S. intelligence agencies to investigate.

Today in The Conversation Canada, Benoit Barbeau from the Université du Québec à Montréal takes a closer look at why the lab-leak hypothesis is being considered again. He also explains why some researchers support gain-of-function studies on viruses and outlines their risks.

Also today:

Regards,

Hannah Hoag

Deputy Editor | Environment + Energy Editor

A security guard leads reporters away from the Wuhan Institute of Virology after a WHO team arrived for a field visit in Wuhan, Hubei province of China, Feb. 3, 2021. The team came to no conclusions about the origins of the pandemic. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Origins of SARS-CoV-2: Why the lab-leak idea is being considered again

Benoit Barbeau, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)

Gain-of-function studies make a natural virus more dangerous or transmissible to humans. Could the Wuhan Institute of Virology be the source of SARS-CoV-2?

View of Llaca Lake, in Peru, taken from an un-crewed aerial vehicle. (Rodrigo Narro Pérez)

How scientists are using drones to lower the risk of catastrophic flooding from large glacial lakes

Rodrigo Narro Pérez, McMaster University

Glacial lakes around the world are expected to flood downstream areas more often as climate change makes them less stable.

Research from Alberta points to the burden parents have faced with home learning. Here, a youth passes Bloor Collegiate Institute in Toronto, May 27, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

End of topsy-turvy school year: 5 education issues exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic

Paul W Bennett, Saint Mary’s University

The pandemic education shock has raised five critical issues that demonstrate how student learning and achievement and social well-being are far from mutually exclusive.

A wine mom is a mother who drinks wine to take the edge off daily tasks associated with motherhood. (Shutterstock)

#WineMom: Humour and empowerment or binge drinking and mental health challenges?

Kelly D. Harding, Laurentian University; Lisa M Whittingham, Brock University

The growing popularity of #winemom and its portrayal on social media. Is it humour and empowerment or binge drinking and mental health challenges?

Managing your social media activity can have positive outcomes on your health. (Shutterstock)

4 ways to have a positive experience when engaging with social media

Lisa Tang, University of Guelph; Stephanie K. Nishi, Universitat Rovira i Virgili

The pandemic has people spending more time online for school, socializing and work. To maintain a healthy relationship with social media, people should manage their online time and activities.

La Conversation Canada

Une jeune haïtienne tout sourire, dans on école communale de Cité Soleil, un des quartiers les plus pauvres des Amériques. Haïti est au dernier rang au monde pour la représentation des femmes en politique et ses dernières tentatives pour remédier à la situation risque d'empirer les choses. Shutterstock

L’avenir d’Haïti passe par la parité entre les sexes, mais le chemin pour y arriver est ardu

Gabrielle Bardall, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa

Haïti est au dernier rang au monde pour la représentation des femmes en politique. Or, l’inégalité entre les sexes contribue à l’échec du développement économique et humain.

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