Foreign news
Scientists prove natural origin of coronavirus with evolution theory
A new commentary has once again dismissed the COVID-19 lab leak theory by applying a classic evolutionary theory to elaborate why SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, could only come from nature.
The insight piece, titled “On the origin of SARS-CoV-2 – The blind watchmaker argument,” was published on the academic journal Science China Life Sciences on Friday by 22 scientists working in Chinese universities and research institutions.
The argument the authors applied stated that natural selection is a blind, unconscious, automatic process which has no purpose in mind and plays the role as a blind watchmaker.
A perfectly adapted species could not be created at once, but would have to accumulate small, adaptiveness-enhancing changes through random mutations over long periods of time, reported Xinhua citing Wu Chung-I, corresponding author of the commentary and professor of the School of Life Sciences at Sun Yat-sen University in south China’s Guangdong Province.
SARS-CoV-2 is “extremely well adapted to the human populations and its adaptive shift from the animal host to humans must have been even more extensive,” said the commentary, which, according to the blind watchmaker argument, “can only happen prior to the onset of the current pandemic and with the aid of step-by-step selection.”
“In this view, SARS-CoV-2 could not have possibly evolved in an animal market in a big city and even less likely in a laboratory,” it added.
The article also said that researchers have successfully selected SARS-CoV-2 strains that can infect mice, which are otherwise resistant to the infection. However, “the enabling mutations account for such a tiny fraction of mutations that an efficient screening of mutations by natural selection is required.”
The authors inferred that before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the virus may have experienced some forms of multi-step evolution in human populations, leading to its extraordinary adaptiveness.
They said the claim of non-natural origin of SARS-CoV-2 is “moot,” as no known natural law “prohibits the SARS-CoV-2 genome to evolve to its current state.” They called for focus on the natural processes in relation to the virus’ origin, which would be “more productive.”
Foreign news
NTAC Hails Tinubu; Volunteers Ready to Positively Impact Nigerians
Joel Ajayi
The Nigerian Technical Aid Corps (NTAC) has commended President Bola Tinubu for funding the Technical Aid Corps (TAC) Scheme.
The Director General (DG) of NTAC , Dr Yusuf Yakub, made the commendation during a ceremony to receive five returning TAC volunteers from Zanzibar, Tanzania on Tuesday in Abuja.
The returning volunteers also expressed readiness to impact knowledge gained from participating in the programme on Nigerians.
TAC is a mechanism for Nigeria’s foreign aid and technical assistance to African, Caribbean and Pacific countries through the use of Nigeria’s abundant trained manpower.
Yakub lauded Tinubu’s visionary leadership and steadfast support for the TAC Scheme.
Welcoming the volunteers who had discharged themselves as worthy ambassadors in Zanzibar, the D-G thanked them for their patriotism, dedication to service and for making Nigeria proud on the international arena.
The NTAC boss highlighted the importance of knowledge-sharing, while announcing that certificates of completion will be presented to the volunteers in line with the noble objectives of the service.
He also emphasised the volunteers’ crucial role in passing on the skills and experiences gained in Zanzibar.
He expressed optimism that their efforts would positively impact the lives of Nigerians across the country and shape the expectations and service-delivery of future prospective volunteers.
Earlier speaking, Amb. Zakari Usman, the Director of Programmes for NTAC, expressed gratitude to the D-G for his unwavering support and provision for the volunteers throughout their service period.
He said that the volunteers had so delivered on the mandate of the agency that citizens of Zanzibar did not want them to leave their country.
Popoola Adegoke, the Team Lead and a Mathematics Instructor for the batch of returning volunteers, was full of gratitude to the Federal Government for providing them the opportunity to participate in the scheme.
Adegoke said that Nigeria, was well blessed and had the abundance of both human and natural resources to contribute meaningfully to the development of many countries of the world.
He said that the need to continue the TAC Scheme was not negotiable, owing to its high impact and results.
Mohammed Salisu, a Physicist, said that the experience had broadened his horizon as his orientation during the last 24 months in Zanzibar, especially on the cultural exchange.
He lauded the government for the scheme, saying that Nigeria is seen and perceived to be higher in all ranking, especially in the standard of living and educational system.
He also appealed to the government to sustain the scheme to close the gaps both the educational and professional systems in the African, Caribbean and the Pacific Countries.
NAN
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