No accidental murder of Chinese coronavirus researcher

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

37-year-old Chinese scientist from the University of Pittsburgh Bing Liu, who was studying the coronavirus, was found dead with gunshot wounds in his own home. According to the investigation, he was killed by a 46-year-old colleague, who later committed suicide. Social media users have linked the death of the researcher to his activities - the police refute this version.

In the United States, 37-year-old Bing Liu, a University of Pittsburgh coronavirus scientist, was found dead. This was reported by People magazine.

According to the publication, police found the body of a man with gunshot wounds on Saturday, May 2, 2020. The alleged killer, 46-year-old Hao Gu, was also found dead in a car parked near the victim's house - police believe he committed suicide.

Gu killed Liu at his home before returning to his car and committing suicide, Detective Sergeant Brian Kohlhepp of the Ross Police Department said.

“We have found no evidence that this tragic event has anything to do with work at the University of Pittsburgh and the current health crisis in the United States and around the world,” USA Today quoted Kohlheppa as saying.

Since the persons involved in the incident are not citizens of the United States, the case will be investigated by federal authorities. "The police believe that the men knew each other and the murder was committed out of jealousy," concluded Kohlhepp.

Liu received his Ph. D. in Computational Science from the National University of Singapore, was a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon University, and then became a Research Fellow at the Pittsburgh School of Medicine. In addition, he received his Ph. D., reports CNN.

In a statement, colleagues described him as a "prolific researcher" who has published over 30 papers and was "an excellent mentor."

“Bing was on the verge of drawing very important conclusions for understanding the cellular mechanisms that underlie SARS-Cov-2 infection, and the cellular basis of subsequent complications. We will endeavor to complete what he started to pay tribute to his scientific prowess,”the message says.

The incident has spawned a myriad of "conspiracy theories." "Oh my god, this is like Mission Impossible." Perhaps he found out that the virus was created in an American laboratory,”wrote one of the users of the Chinese social network Weibo.

Many believe that Liu was killed because he was allegedly going to reveal the mystery of the origin of the coronavirus. “A very unusual case - it’s too“random”. There are secrets that are hidden in the dark,”a user of the social network wrote in the comments.

Meanwhile, some conspiracy theorists have speculated on Twitter that the Chinese government may be responsible for the scientist's death.

In April, scientists from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, where Bing Liu also worked, created the first prototype of a coronavirus vaccine in the form of a microneedle patch that fits on the tip of a finger.

According to NBC, the vaccine is based on a viral antigen and is delivered to the skin using 400 microneedles of sugars and proteins located on the surface of the patch, which dissolve completely without leaving any residue.

According to the results of a study on mice, with this form of vaccine administration, animals after two weeks produced antibodies in an amount sufficient to neutralize the coronavirus.

However, this type of vaccine can be quickly manufactured on an industrial scale. One of the significant advantages of such a patch is that it does not need to be kept cold during storage or transportation. It is also important that the microneedle vaccine remains effective even after careful gamma sterilization, according to the Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

“When developing, we took as a basis the 'scratch' method, which is used to deliver smallpox vaccine to the skin, but in its high-tech version, which is effective and comfortable for the patient. And it's actually painless,”said one of the researchers, professor of dermatology Louis Fallot.