A popular conspiracy theory being passed around cyberspace suggests the coronavirus was engineered as a biological weapon meant to bring down civilization as we know it. While the claim might make good fodder for a Hollywood thriller, a new study reveals it isn't true.
In a study published in the journal Nature Medicine, researchers found the novel coronavirus "is not a laboratory construct or a purposefully manipulated virus." with the researchers concluding "we do not believe that any type of laboratory-based scenario is plausible." Instead, scientists found it's likely a mutation of virus normally found in bats.
Other scientists, like the National Institute of Health's Dr. Francis Collins, are supporting the findings. "This study leaves little room to refute a natural origin for COVID-19," he says.