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 ...
News Medical

What is Gain-of-Function Research?

Gain-of-function research (GOFR) refers to the serial passaging of microorganisms to increase their transmissibility, virulence, immunogenicity, and host tropism by applying selective pressure to a ...
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Gain-of-function pathogen research is controversial and widespread. Can it be regulated?

Activists want it banned. The US government may soon further restrict it. And politicians won’t stop talking about it. So-called “gain-of-function” pathogen research has faced growing scrutiny ever ...
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

COVID-19 lab-leak theory: Gain-of-function is a hot topic, but a bad explanation

For the second time in recent months, Sen. Rand Paul, a conservative Republican from Kentucky, sparred with Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, ...