On March 7 last year, the influential journal published the letter in which the 27 scientists said they 'strongly condemned conspiracy theories' surrounding the origins of the coronavirus pandemic that has impacted all corners of the world, reports Daily Mail.

The letter had shut down all debate around the origin of the virus which has now reached all corners of the globe.

However, an investigation by The Daily Telegraph newspaper into the signatories has found that 26 of the 27 had some link to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, where the leak was suspected - calling into question their impartiality, reports Daily Mail.

Signatories include Dr Peter Daszak, the British president of EcoHealth Alliance, which funnelled money into controversial research at a Wuhan Institute of Virology, and UK Government scientific adviser Sir Jeremy Farrar.

It is only Dr Ronald Corley, a microbiology expert from Boston University, who has not been found to have any relationship with funders or researchers at the Wuhan institute.