Despite the importance of GoF modifications, they have sometimes faced misplaced concerns or opposition that could lead to their being overregulated or even banned.

The term “gain of function” is often taken to refer to research with viruses that puts society at risk of an infectious disease outbreak for questionable gain. Some research on emerging viruses can ...

How can a virus with only five proteins dominate a human cell that contains thousands? This question has long puzzled ...

Colin D. Butler is a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee for Doctors for the Environment, Australia. The United Nations Environment Programme recently published a scientific review that looks ...

The work has helped in the development of mRNA coronavirus vaccines and the first approved covid drug. In May, the longtime coronavirus researcher Ralph Baric found himself at the center of the ...

Anterior view of the face of a Myotis lucifugus (Little Brown Bat), Trenton, New Jersey, 1966. Image courtesy CDC. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images) Why have scientists spent years ...

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) The term “gain of function” is often taken to refer to research with viruses that puts ...

Gain-of-function experiments in the lab can help researchers get ahead of viruses naturally gaining the ability to infect people in the wild. KTSDesign/Science Photo Library via Getty Images As ...