The Conversation

Gain‑of‑function research is more than just tweaking risky viruses – it’s a routine and essential tool in all biology research

In May 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to restrict research on viruses and pathogens called gain-of-function studies. The National Institutes of Health is now taking steps to ...
Bulletin of the Atomic ScientistsOpinion

The keys to a better gain-of-function policy: Accountability and a ‘fair and rigorous’ risk assessment

As the administration considers new policies for gain-of-function research, scientists have an important role to play in ...
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Trump’s last minute gain-of-function policy could sow researcher confusion

In 2011, two teams of scientists created an uproar after revealing they had separately mutated the H5N1 bird flu virus to spread among ferrets through the air, something it didn’t do naturally. The ...
New York Post

NIH official finally admits taxpayers funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan — after years of denials

At long last, National Institutes of Health (NIH) principal deputy director Lawrence Tabak admitted to Congress Thursday that US taxpayers funded gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of ...