In a review of the scientific evidence on the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, 21 researchers said there is no evidence that the virus has a laboratory origin. 

The researchers, including Nobel Prize winner Peter Doherty, said the early cases traced in central China's city of Wuhan show an animal contagion is the most likely explanation. Authors of the review cite the coincidence that the virus was first detected in a city that houses a virological laboratory for the lab-leak suspicions. 

The paper was released Wednesday ahead of peer review. It's being prepared for submission to a journal for publication. The paper gave a detailed explanation for the virus's genetic signatures, early epidemiology, and research undertaken at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.