In the United States, a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine was found shot dead, who was "on the verge of an important discovery" on the new coronavirus.
Researcher Bing Liu, 37, was found shot to death in his own home north of Pittsburgh. The Chinese scientist was shot twice - in the head and neck.
The crime was quickly solved: within an hour, the police found the body of the alleged killer Bing Liu. He shot himself in his car, parked less than a kilometer from the scientist's house. But the motives for the brutal murder remain unknown.
Liu is known to have been working on deciphering the cellular mechanisms underlying COVID-19 lately. He was the head of the department of computational and systems biology and, in his own words, was ready to make an important discovery regarding the coronavirus that hit the world. However, these plans were not destined to come true.
Representatives from the University of Pittsburgh reported after the murder of the scientist that Bing Liu was a prolific and admired researcher. “He was on the brink of discoveries that were very important for understanding the cellular mechanisms underlying the SARS-CoV-2 infection. We will make every effort to complete Liu's research and thus pay tribute to his work,”the message said.
Bing Liu earned his BS and PhD degrees in computer science from the National University of Singapore and then pursued his doctorate at the prestigious Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
