To our fellow researchers, students, and prospective collaborators:
I have always been working on emerging contaminants since the beginning of my PhD, and this virus, out of all the things I know, is the most dangerous ‘emerging contaminant’ threatening public health. I couldn't help but often staring at the rolling numbers and statistics thinking how many people are dying from this disease every day, every hour, and every moment, somewhere in this world. And we don't even know where it came from and how it got to this far.
I was born in the 80s, and have been through the 1998 flood, 2003 SARS, the Christchurch earthquake, etc. This is nothing like what I have seen.
Since the beginning of my research career, I have been an experimental scientist. Every single project I did was an experimental study. I believe in science, and even more so in data. But now, I have a strong will to contribute, through commentaries, critical reviews, data analyses, new ideas, to voice our concerns and share our thoughts that could be useful to others in this pandemic. To me, the goal of saving lives through research has never been so real, and so urgent. If this doesn't motivate us, I don't know what will.
Medical researchers are racing against time, and so are we. The rolling numbers and daily mortality counts make us think that getting our best work out in a timely fashion is the most important thing for us to contribute on COVID-19. We have a dedicated 10-person team led by myself working day and night to ensure timely delivery and the scientific rigor of our work.
Viruses and pandemics are an essential part of the evolution process. Being the most intelligent species living on this planet, we humans have enjoyed far too many privileges by exploiting natural resources and other living species on this planet, for far too long. There is a time we must stop and think about how we could do better, live better, and get along better with other species living on earth, our only home. For now, there is nothing as urgent as understanding the origin, infection, and transmission of this virus in our communities, and for that we must stand together, research, and communicate using science as our most powerful tool to protect more people from dying from this pandemic.
We invite you to come back for further updates on our work. We update this page every 1-2 weeks to ensure the latest information is published here.
- Jie Han, at Xi'an Jiaotong University (2020.07.22)
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(Update on August 4, 2021)
The WHO's global statistics on new weekly infections show a 'third-wave' is looming. Reemergent outbreaks caused by the spread of SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant (B.1.617.2) is becoming the new reality for citizens and public health authorities. In a report issued to the British government on 30 July 2021, the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (UK) warned that due to the massive number of infections, it is unlikely to achieve total eradication of COVID-19 and with the virus constantly mutating and evolving, a new variant would inevitably appear and render all current vaccines ineffective – a dire scenario that must be prepared for and dealt with at all costs.
It’s been just over a year since we started working on this imperative. Many of our hypotheses are now proven by new evidence and case reports. To save readers’ time, below is a short list of ‘important work’ which we have completed in the past twelve months. Some of them already garnered significant numbers of reads and citations. Others have not been noticed by many. We feel it is important to bring them to the wider attention by the research community and public authorities.
Please scroll down to find more details, including visual abstracts and latest updates. We have a few more articles to add to this list. We will post them here once they are completed.
- Jie Han, at Xi’an Jiaotong University
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(List updated on January 4, 2023)
Part 1
Biorepositories (biobanks) of human body fluids and materials as archives for tracing early infections of COVID-19 (Submitted 3 October 2020; Published 18 January 2021) Link
A dreadful loop: Can reverse zoonosis of COVID-19 seed unrestrained spread and mutations in wild species and transmission of novel strains to humans? (Date Written: 27 October 2020) Link
The singing cicadas at 10 p.m.: Urban night, wild habitants, and COVID-19 (Date Written: 3 May 2021) Link
Part 2
Need for assessing the inhalation of micro(nano)plastic debris shed from masks, respirators, and home-made face coverings during the COVID-19 pandemic (Published 6 October 2020; Submitted 25 July 2020) Link
Mask on beauty: Mask, respirator, and cloth face covering wearers at risks of inhaling abundant respirable hazards from leave-on facial cosmetics (Date Written: 2 May 2021) Link
Expired and unwanted pharmaceuticals: The hidden environmental legacy of COVID-19 (Date Written: 1 February 2022) Link
Biocide-tolerance and antibiotic-resistance in community environments and risk of direct transfers to humans: Unintended consequences of community-wide surface disinfecting during COVID-19? (Published 3 April 2021; Submitted 7 December 2020) Link
Part 3
Urban flooding events could pose risks of virus spread and community outbreaks during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic (Published 23 September 2020; Submitted 30 June 2020) *ESI Highly CIted Paper Link
Can the coronavirus disease be transmitted from food? A review of evidence, risks, policies and knowledge gaps (Published 1 October 2020; Submitted 3 September 2020) *ESI Highly CIted Paper Link
It is time to acknowledge coronavirus transmission via frozen and chilled foods: Undeniable evidence from China and lessons for the world (Available online 5 January 2023;Accepted 1 January 2023; Submitted 12 August 2022) Link
The last inches: Human thermal plume as an overlooked factor in airborne transmission of COVID-19 in the human microenvironment (Date Written: 18 December 2020) Link