Two U.S. virologists with ties to China's Wuhan Institute of Virology argue that the lab's recent research poses unacceptable risks

A recent opinion piece from the New York Times criticizes experiments described in the journal Cell on a novel MERS coronavirus called HKU5-CoV-2.

The work was conducted at a low biosafety level ( BSL ) without standardized safeguards against airborne viruses.

The authors are Columbia University Professor of Epidemiology W. Ian Lipkin and University of North Carolina Professor Ralph Baric — both of whom were involved with the Wuhan lab.

Ralph Baric was interested in working with the WIV on viruses like SARS-CoV-2 in the years preceding the COVID-19 pandemic.

When a coronavirus emerged in Wuhan with features uncommon in nature but matching the virologists’ esoteric research interests, none of the collaborators disclosed this proposal.

The proposal only came to light after a whistleblower leaked the documents.

Lipkin gave a seminar at the Wuhan Institute of Virology on small game hunting and zoonotic spillover risk in October 2015 .

Lipkin has served as a scientific advisor to the intelligence community and discussed the origin question with several intelligence agencies, according to a congressional transcript.