[Rippin]

I was just making fun of evolutionists. More obvious apparent evidence of design than this crossing of viruses is routinely attributed to the accumulation of small mutations and natural selection but in a case like this scientists jump to the "design inference" almost immediately.

[aristeides]

"Niman" (Dr. Henry Niman of Harvard?) has this to say today on Agonist SARS Board:

Although the possible accidental release from a bioweapons program remains unlikely, the finding of a "natural" version of SARS coronavirus in 2 (and possibly many more) species in China, makes an accidental release of a lethal mutant a more likely possibility.

The vast majority of SARS isolates from patients have a 29 nt deletion, which is the type of change that could be man-made. However, although it still seems rather unlikely, the identification of several animal isolates, and one human isolate, GZ01, with the 29 nt present, changes the bioterror odds somewhat.