There are obviously some conspiracy theory versions of this but the main origin of a more sane lab leak theory is by exclusion, which is to say that it existed because no other theory had definitive proof.
The most obvious alternative candidate is zoonotic origin. To many this is still the leading theory and it's likely the most plausible. But the smoking gun for zoonotic origin is finding the wildlife population of origin. This hasn't happened yet. Given the attention, that's a little weird but it's not that weird. Sometimes it takes years.
The most plausible form of the lab leak theory is that this was an accidental leak of a strain they had. Even that raises questions. If it's a strain they had, where did it come from? You run into the same issue as zoonotic origin. Could it be the result of gaint of function or similar research that would've modified a wild virus? That's possible too.
The only evidence here is circumstancial. China had, for example, not cooperated with WHO early on in investigations. Any investigations have been limited in their terms of reference. There was a DNA database of coronavirus strains that was taken down in 2019. Kind of weird timing but no tdamning. When I last looked into it this hadn't been examined by third parties. Maybe that's changed now?
So what's happened? Nothing. Because there hasn't been significant movement here on this or any other theory.
The most obvious alternative candidate is zoonotic origin. To many this is still the leading theory and it's likely the most plausible. But the smoking gun for zoonotic origin is finding the wildlife population of origin. This hasn't happened yet. Given the attention, that's a little weird but it's not that weird. Sometimes it takes years.
The most plausible form of the lab leak theory is that this was an accidental leak of a strain they had. Even that raises questions. If it's a strain they had, where did it come from? You run into the same issue as zoonotic origin. Could it be the result of gaint of function or similar research that would've modified a wild virus? That's possible too.
The only evidence here is circumstancial. China had, for example, not cooperated with WHO early on in investigations. Any investigations have been limited in their terms of reference. There was a DNA database of coronavirus strains that was taken down in 2019. Kind of weird timing but no tdamning. When I last looked into it this hadn't been examined by third parties. Maybe that's changed now?
So what's happened? Nothing. Because there hasn't been significant movement here on this or any other theory.