After year and a half of living and dying with Covid-19, we’ve learned a lot about it, from how it spreads to how to create effective vaccines. The one thing we still don’t know for sure is where exactly it came from. There hasn’t been any new evidence lately, but there has been an increased interest in finding some. “The idea that the coronavirus could have leaked from a lab in Wuhan, China — instead of jumping from animals to humans — was dismissed as a conspiracy theory by many scientists a year ago. That has changed now. As Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Biden’s chief medical adviser, told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Wednesday: ‘The historical basis for pandemics evolving naturally from an animal reservoir is extremely strong. And it’s for that reason that we felt that something similar like this has a much higher likelihood. No one knows, not even I, 100% at this point, which is the reason why we are in favor of further investigation.'” NPR: Why A Lab In Wuhan Is Worth A Closer Look As A Possible Source Of The Pandemic.

+ An increased focus doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll find an answer. Investigating something in America is hard enough, but this would require some cooperation from China (or at least some lab rats willing to whistle-blow). China hits back as US revisits Wuhan lab-leak theory. China isn’t going to do this search party any favors.

+ Daniel Engber in The Atlantic: “It might have started in the wild, or it might have started in a lab. We know enough to acknowledge that the second scenario is possible, and we should therefore act as though it’s true.” (The point is to figure out ways to keep this from happening again, even though it often seems like the point is scoring political points.)