Virologist who was first to share Covid genome sleeps on street after lab shuts

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-01293-0

Zhang Yongzhen shared the genomic sequence of SARS-CoV-2 with the world, speeding up the development of vaccines.

  1. Smriti Mallapaty
Zhang Yongzhen, the first scientist to publish a sequence of the COVID-19 virus, looks at a presentation on his laptop in a coffeeshop in Shanghai, China on Dec. 13, 2020.

Zhang Yongzhen, the first person to publicly release the genome sequence of the virus that causes COVID-19, was camping outside his laboratory. Credit: Dake Kang/AP via Alamy

The first person to publicly release the genome sequence of the virus that causes COVID-19 — virologist Zhang Yongzhen — seems to have resolved a public dispute with the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center (SPHCC), Fudan University, China, which erupted last week.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-01293-0

Updates & Corrections

  • Update 03 May 2024: The text was altered to reflect the fact that Zhang's social media posts have been removed

  • Correction 03 May 2024: Zhang's social media post regarding the agreement with SPHCC was posted after midnight on Tuesday night. The text has been corrected for accuracy.

Subjects

Latest on:

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"title": "Virologist who was first to share Covid genome sleeps on street after lab shuts",
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"author": "Smriti Mallapaty",
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"title": "Chinese virologist who was first to share COVID-19 genome sleeps on street after lab shuts",
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{
"url": "https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-01293-0",
"title": "Chinese virologist who was first to share COVID-19 genome sleeps on street after lab shuts",
"description": "Zhang Yongzhen shared the genomic sequence of SARS-CoV-2 with the world, speeding up the development of vaccines. Zhang Yongzhen shared the genomic sequence of SARS-CoV-2 with the world, speeding up the development of vaccines.",
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"content": "<div>\n <article>\n<div>\n <div>\n <ul>\n <li><span>NEWS</span></li>\n <li>01 May 2024</li>\n <li>Update <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-01293-0#correction-0\">03 May 2024</a></li>\n <li>Correction <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-01293-0#correction-1\">03 May 2024</a></li>\n </ul>\n <div>\n <p>\n Zhang Yongzhen shared the genomic sequence of SARS-CoV-2 with the world, speeding up the development of vaccines.\n </p>\n </div>\n </div>\n <div>\n <ol>\n <li>\n <span>Smriti Mallapaty</span>\n </li>\n </ol>\n</div>\n</div>\n <div>\n <figure>\n <picture>\n <source type=\"image/webp\" srcset=\"https://media.nature.com/w1248/magazine-assets/d41586-024-01293-0/d41586-024-01293-0_27038892.jpg?as=webp 1248w, https://media.nature.com/w767/magazine-assets/d41586-024-01293-0/d41586-024-01293-0_27038892.jpg?as=webp 767w, https://media.nature.com/w319/magazine-assets/d41586-024-01293-0/d41586-024-01293-0_27038892.jpg?as=webp 319w\" sizes=\"100vw, 767px\"></source>\n <img src=\"https://media.nature.com/w767/magazine-assets/d41586-024-01293-0/d41586-024-01293-0_27038892.jpg\" alt=\"Zhang Yongzhen, the first scientist to publish a sequence of the COVID-19 virus, looks at a presentation on his laptop in a coffeeshop in Shanghai, China on Dec. 13, 2020.\" />\n </picture>\n <div>\n <figcaption>\n <p>Zhang Yongzhen, the first person to publicly release the genome sequence of the virus that causes COVID-19, was camping outside his laboratory. Credit: Dake Kang/AP via Alamy</p>\n </figcaption>\n </div>\n</figure>\n </div>\n <div>\n <p>The first person to publicly release the genome sequence of the virus that causes COVID-19 — virologist Zhang Yongzhen — seems to have resolved a public dispute with the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center (SPHCC), Fudan University, China, which erupted last week.</p>\n <div>\n <h2 id=\"access-options\">Access options</h2>\n <section><div><p>Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals</p><p>Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription</p><div><p><span>$29.99<span> / 30 days</span></span></p><p>cancel any time</p></div></div><div><p>Subscribe to this journal</p><p>Receive 51 print issues and online access</p><div><p>$199.00 per year</p><p>only $3.90 per issue</p></div></div><div><p>Rent or buy this article</p><p>Prices vary by article type</p><p><span>from</span>$1.95</p><p><span>to</span>$39.95</p></div><p>Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout</p></section>\n <h3>Additional access options:</h3>\n <ul>\n <li>\n <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://idp.nature.com/authorize/natureuser?client_id=grover&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nature.com%2Farticles%2Fd41586-024-01293-0\">Log in</a>\n </li>\n <li>\n <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.springernature.com/gp/librarians/licensing/license-options\">Learn about institutional subscriptions</a>\n </li>\n <li>\n <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://support.nature.com/en/support/home\">Read our FAQs</a>\n </li>\n <li>\n <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.springernature.com/gp/contact\">Contact customer support</a>\n </li>\n </ul>\n </div>\n <p><em>doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-01293-0</em></p>\n <div>\n <h3>Updates &amp; Corrections</h3>\n <ul><li>\n <p><strong>Update 03 May 2024</strong>: The text was altered to reflect the fact that Zhang's social media posts have been removed</p>\n </li><li>\n <p><strong>Correction 03 May 2024</strong>: Zhang's social media post regarding the agreement with SPHCC was posted after midnight on Tuesday night. The text has been corrected for accuracy.</p>\n </li>\n </ul>\n </div>\n <h2 id=\"related-articles\">Related Articles</h2>\n <ul>\n <li>\n <p>\n <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03435-6\">\n <img src=\"https://media.nature.com/lw100/magazine-assets/d41586-024-01293-0/d41586-024-01293-0_18676088.jpg\" />\n Nature’s 10: ten people who helped shape science in 2020\n </a>\n </p>\n </li>\n <li>\n <p>\n <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00827-2\">\n <img src=\"https://media.nature.com/lw100/magazine-assets/d41586-024-01293-0/d41586-024-01293-0_24655478.jpg\" />\n COVID-origins study links raccoon dogs to Wuhan market: what scientists think\n </a>\n </p>\n </li>\n <li>\n <p>\n <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00732-0\">\n <img src=\"https://media.nature.com/lw100/magazine-assets/d41586-024-01293-0/d41586-024-01293-0_24598128.jpg\" />\n Scientists struggle to probe COVID’s origins amid sparse data from China\n </a>\n </p>\n </li>\n </ul>\n <h2 id=\"subjects\">Subjects</h2>\n <section>\n <h2 id=\"tablist-heading\">Latest on:</h2>\n</section>\n </div>\n </article>\n <p><img src=\"https://www.nature.com/y7bo7kv3/article/d41586-024-01293-0\" />\n</p></div>",
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