Swordsmyth
12-22-2017, 03:02 PM
“Gain-of-function research” sounds so innocuous. Who wouldn’t want to gain some function? Opinions differ, though, when the “function” in question is lethality. Some researchers believe it is important to experiment with disease-causing pathogens, creating deadlier versions than those found in nature, because the lab-bred strains can teach us how a contagion might evolve. Others think the risks are too great. Even the highest-security labs have had breaches and accidents, so why create a mutant virus that could turn into a man-made pandemic?
Three years ago, recognizing the potential risks, the US government declared a moratorium on funding for all new gain-of-function studies involving influenza, SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), and MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome). This week that moratorium was lifted, as the New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/19/health/lethal-viruses-nih.html?smid=tw-share&_r=1), the Washington Post (https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/us-announces-new-policy-for-pathogens-that-could-cause-a-pandemic/2017/12/19/bb715f7c-e4b5-11e7-833f-155031558ff4_story.html?utm_term=.fcb48f1bec1e), and others reported.
More at: https://thebulletin.org/us-lifts-ban-funding-creation-lethal-viruses11370
Three years ago, recognizing the potential risks, the US government declared a moratorium on funding for all new gain-of-function studies involving influenza, SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), and MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome). This week that moratorium was lifted, as the New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/19/health/lethal-viruses-nih.html?smid=tw-share&_r=1), the Washington Post (https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/us-announces-new-policy-for-pathogens-that-could-cause-a-pandemic/2017/12/19/bb715f7c-e4b5-11e7-833f-155031558ff4_story.html?utm_term=.fcb48f1bec1e), and others reported.
More at: https://thebulletin.org/us-lifts-ban-funding-creation-lethal-viruses11370