2y ago

Illegal medical lab containing bioengineered mice and infectious agents including HIV and herpes discovered in California

www.insider.com Illegal medical lab containing bioengineered mice and infectious agents including HIV and herpes discovered in California

Nearly 1,000 mice were found alongside improperly stored disease samples, and human blood and tissue, in a warehouse equipped with research equipment.

47 comments

It’s shady practices like this that fuel conspiracy theories and erode public trust in science.
- My mother appears convinced it’s a Chinese medical lab. So, yea.
  
  Well, because it is actually
  The county also discovered nearly 1,000 bioengineered mice. Wang Zhaolin, a representative of Prestige Biotech – the company operating the lab – told county investigators that the mice were genetically engineered to catch and carry the COVID-19 virus
  I mean if you don't want conspiracy theories to spread then don't make them true to begin with
  
  I actually noticed that when searching for "prestige biotech" (the name of the company) pretty much all the conservative media already state that it is Chinese linked. The weird thing is that they state it as a fact without explaining how they arrived to this conclusion.
  I mean, it very well might be, but tell me how you arrived to that conclusion.
  
  Both the owner and representative of the company are Chinese, so why wouldn't she think that?
  Also, how many other countries would be interested in maintaining a bioweapons facility in the US?
- You speak as if this is common. The reason this is news is because it’s random AF.
  
  I didn’t mean to imply it’s common, just that it’s particularly damaging.
  
  Just like trans athletes in sports. Which are like what? 3 people?
  It makes for good headlines and that's why it's news and gives the rightwing conspiracy nuts more fuel for the next big idiotic thing.
- Only to people who wouldn't trust science regardless of this event.

Here is my issue: they seem to be using ‘bio-engendered mice’ as a scare phrase. Nearly all mice in a research facility will be, everywhere.
It’ve been weirder had they NOT been genetically modified.
- I heard the mice were dosed with dihydrogen-oxide to make them more infectious!
- Yeah wild-type mice are present in labs as controls, but by far fewer in number to the modified organisms, apparently

I'm REALLY not trying to deaden the conspiracy-ness of this article...
But during covid we basically let a lot of research protocols and testing slack on the protocols:
https://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/regulations-and-policy/single-irb-exception-determinations/october-2020-exception-determination/index.html
https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents/exception-informed-consent-requirements-emergency-research
I haven't seen a protocol exception on sourcing research subjects, but I'm sure one was in place during covid, and I will bet real money these clowns were selling test mice, their paperwork was in faded crayon, they got paid 100x the normal prices, and unlike everyone else they just were too stupid to shut down and get out while the getting was good.

Hello! The article you linked was already posted here: https://lemmy.world/post/2420089 this is against rule 6. If I'm correct, please delete your post.
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- Looks like the old article was deleted by creator, @fmstrat was that maybe you accidentally posting with the wrong login?

What was illegal about it? Was that warehouse not zoned for labs? Obviously poor storage and labeling practices, but surly (maybe) not illegal?
- You can't just decide to set up a medical lab and do experiments with infectious diseases and animals without permits and licences and oversight, you know.
  
  Well, this ruins my plans. Goddamn gubmit getting all up in my business.
  
  Not with that attitude
  
  I thought this was America!!!
  
  What if we do them on funguses? Those aren't animals that oughta be fine I haven't watched HBO lately or played any video games
- A lot of stuff sounded illegal. Poor storage is illegal when dealing with bio safety hazards of this level, poor labeling too. Sounded like they didn’t have protocols available or even approved by review boards which is illegal. I doubt they even had proper bio safety ratings which would be illegal in this case. The whole situation sounds extremely dangerous and I hope no harm has been done.
- It was illegal, and don't call me surly.
- oh the mice were surly alright

Do you want an actual Raccoon City? Because this is how you get an actual Raccoon City...

I was gonna bet Fresno, Modesto or Bakersfield. Got it in one.

There’s this docu series on netflix (unnatural selection) about genetic engineering in general but also about some people (with and without science background) who believe that anyone should be able to do genetic engineering at home (Josiah Zayner is one of them, i believe he still sells lab equipment and reagents for anyone who want to do some DIY bio-engineering). They also follow this guy who stopped taking his HIV meds and started using some kind of antibody that was developed by some shady company (it didn’t work and guess what; not a single physician was involved). I believe one of these shady guys was found dead in a sensory deprivation pod with ketamine in his blood.

Herpes is illegal now?
- 🔫 always has been
  
  Well there goes my pox party

47 comments