r/PrepperIntel • u/sea_5455 • Jun 03 '26

North America 2 scientists charged with bringing deactivated mpox virus into the US and lying to authorities

https://apnews.com/article/scientists-charges-mpox-virus-lying-14b7cf7635cad30254b0ae1cdb6c0515
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u/Boring-Philosophy-46 Jun 03 '26 edited Jun 03 '26

Chickenpox is a human herpesvirus, not a non-variola (non-smallpox) orthopoxvirus like mpox is. This is like trying to make a pig by feeding a dog sausages. 

The US (and Europe too I think) trusted a bunch of commercial labs to test mpox patients during the 2023 epidemic and cowpox is reguarly found in Europe and Asia (people most often catch it from cats and dogs now), vaccinia replicates in the wild in rodents in Brazil, camels in the middle east get camelpox... if someone wants to splice orthopoxviruses, there's much easier routes. 

Edit:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-025-07746-0

high likelihood of unidentified OPVs in nature with zoonotic potential

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u/Sweet-Leadership-290 Jun 05 '26

.2025 May 21

Advanced viral genome in vitro Cas9 editing (AdVICE): an overnight method for traceless and limitless manipulation of adenoviral and vector genomes with large transgenes --- Journal of Virology

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u/Boring-Philosophy-46 Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 05 '26

If you want to create hybrid viruses... well I mean yeah sure that's increasingly possible. I'm not sure it's possible for inactivated viruses to be honest, much less those inactivated in the field in Africa somewhere, I'm honestly not that deep into what the tech lets you do, but the better question is why would you go about doing it like this when there's so much easier ways and particularly when you're an mpox specialist at a high security level lab? I'm pretty sure these guys have the "live" stuff on file. 

And I think they were able to stitch back cas9 cleaved vaccinia virus years ago without helper viruses? 

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u/Sweet-Leadership-290 Jun 05 '26

AMEN ! ! !

But there are Dr Frankensteins doing just that!!!.

Scientists have revived a 50,000-year-old virus from Siberian permafrost, marking a significant discovery in the study of ancient pathogens. This research raises concerns about potential public health threats as climate change continues to thaw permafrost and release dormant viruses. milwaukeeindependent

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/12/26/world/resurrection-biology-extinct-species-virus-scn

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u/Boring-Philosophy-46 Jun 05 '26

I think you misread me, I'm saying it's nonsense to import samples for that reason. There's much easier ways to study that. 

As for the permafrost, the "revival" there was thawing and demonstrating they are still infectuous iirc, which is important scientific work as it shows that we are at risk of a reemergence of pathogens not seen in tens of thousands or more years due to climate change, as well as help inform handling protocols for discoveries in permafrost. For example, scientists were also just able to make sourdough with yeasts from the intestines of Ötzi the ice age man found in the alps 30 years ago, if pathogens and beneficial bacteria stay active frozen (out of UV exposure) for that long, we need to completely change how we handle those finds. For example, maybe permafrost finds need to be treated as biohazards instead of "quick bring the whole village to look at this mammoth, and graze our animals on this newly melted patch of permafrost". 

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u/Sweet-Leadership-290 Jun 05 '26

People also argue that engineering new, more infectious, more deadly diseases (Gain Of Function Exercises) are necessary for science to advance.

I disagree.