In this episode of Going Viral, Professor Raina MacIntyre head of biosecurity at the UNSW Kirby Institute, talks to RACGP president Dr Harry Nespolon about the controversial topic of whether COVID-19 is synthetic.
While the theory of COVID-19 being man-made was quickly rejected by many in the virology community, Professor MacIntyre discusses why the idea shouldn’t be entirely dismissed.
In this episode:
– Genetic engineering; synthetic biology methodologies are widely available.
– What is “gain of function”, why it is controversial and is it currently permitted?
– Could COVID-19 be man-made? It’s a real possibility and not just a crazy conspiracy theory.
Host: Dr Harry Nespolon, GP and RACGP President
Guests: Prof Raina MacIntyre, Head of Biosecurity, UNSW Kirby Institute
Total time: 17 mins
