Alina Chan tweeted life into the idea that the virus came from a lab

The FBI accused him of spying for China. It ruined his life.

Sponsored by Medidata The Download Your daily dose of what's up in emerging technology The lab leak crusade 06.28.21 Good morning! Today we've got an in-depth profile with controversial biologist Alina Chan, one of the most high profile names calling for more scientists to take the lab-leak hypothesis seriously.  And we look at the US government's attempts to unearth spies for China—and the terrible impact it's having on those accused. Get your friends to sign up here to get The Download every day. They called it a conspiracy theory. But Alina Chan tweeted life into the idea that the virus came from a lab. Alina Chan started asking questions in March 2020. She was chatting with friends on Facebook about the virus then spreading out of China. She thought it was strange that people were saying it had come out of a food market. If that was so, why hadn’t anyone found any infected animals?  She wondered why no one was admitting another possibility, which to her seemed very obvious: the outbreak might have been due to a lab accident.  Many scientists quietly believed that a lab leak was possible—if only because the world center of research on bat viruses similar to SARS-CoV-2, the Wuhan Institute of Virology, happens to be eight miles from where the outbreak’s early cases were seen. But there wasn’t any real evidence, and it didn’t pay to “take on the big guys,” as one accomplished virologist told me. But Chan's view is now widely held. That’s due partly to her Twitter account. Throughout 2020, she relentlessly stoked scientific argument and doubts, sometimes adding a unicorn GIF to highlight research she found implausible. Read this absolutely compelling profile. —Antonio Regalado Washington's campaign against academics linked to China is under pressure as another case collapses In April 2018, Anming Hu, a Chinese-Canadian associate professor at the University of Tennessee, received an unexpected visit from the FBI. The agents wanted to know whether he’d been involved in a Chinese government “talent program,” which offered overseas researchers incentives to bring their work back to Chinese universities. Hu is one of dozens of scientists, mostly of Chinese descent, whom the US government has investigated over the years amid allegations that they were hiding their connections to China. Since 2018, such cases have been investigated under the “China Initiative,” a controversial multi-agency program that aims to detect, prosecute, and stop economic espionage. Now a growing group of activists, legal scholars, and national security experts have argued that it rests on shaky foundations, is limited in its efficacy, and fuels wide-scale racial profiling that has profoundly damaged the US scientific community. Read the full story, and learn what happened to Hu. —Eileen Guo and Karen Hao We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction in these weird times. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or tweet 'em at me.)   + A lovely story about friendship and sandwiches.   + Amazing timelapse drone footage of a giant herd of sheep. Honestly, it’s better than I’m making it sound.   + What if marmosets lived on the moon?   + A sunny flash mob dance to brighten up Monday. Sponsor Message Clinical trials are better, faster, cheaper with big data Researchers are using analytics and existing patient data to ease recruitment, reduce costs, and accelerate timelines. Learn more here. The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 The US is still not ready for the next pandemic There are holes that are too big to fix for a single administration.  (Atlantic)   + The third wave is hitting the UK now—but it’s weird. (Wired UK)   + Covid makes the long term care crisis impossible to ignore. (Vox) 2 The inside story of the AstraZeneca vaccine An idealistic crusade that has come under criticism (some of it unfair). (Guardian)   + The only way we’ll know we need a booster shot. (Atlantic)   + Even mild covid can lead to long term symptoms. (Ars Technica) 3 Where did the coronavirus come from? Another angle on the lab-leak hypothesis. (NYT) 4 The Pacific northwest is baking in a heatwave Temperatures are extreme and dangerous. (NYT)   + Yes, summer is hot—but this is abnormal. (Atlantic) 5 Silicon Valley doesn’t like the media asking questions So it’s starting its own publications that only say nice things! Poor little babies. (NPR) 6 The antitrust bills tackling Big Tech have cleared their first hurdle But opposition is growing. (WaPo) 7 The quest for supersonic flight over land We just need to turn sonic booms into sonic thumps. (New Yorker) 8 A deep dive into the growing biodiversity crisis It's a complex web that underpins everything—and it’s at risk. (Economist) 9 Can big data and AI pick the world’s next pop superstar? Thousands of songs are uploaded every day. No one person can listen to them all. (Guardian) 10 Welcome to the UFO trap UFOs are undeniably fun. And that’s when standards of skepticism start to slip. (Atlantic)   + What the new Pentagon report reveals about humankind. (Wired) A special offer just for you. Get unlimited access to MIT Technology Review, plus 2 months FREE, when you subscribe today. It's time to make MIT Technology Review your go-to resource for thought-provoking insights, analysis and news about the world of technology. Subscribe now and save. Quote of the day “I am confident... that intelligent life-forms inhabit planets elsewhere in the universe.” Hakeem Oluseyi, president-elect of the National Society of Black Physicists, writes for the Washington Post about his hopes and belief that we’re not alone. Top image credit: Courtesy photo Please send sandwiches to hi@technologyreview.com. Follow me on Twitter at @niallfirth. Thanks for reading! —Niall Was this newsletter forwarded to you, and you'd like to see more? Sign up today Leading with Innovation. Join us virtually September 28-30. For a limited time, get early bird savings when you register by July 8. 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