Gain of Function research–What is it? The Good, The Bad and The Biological Weapons

In
my relentless pursuit of understanding covid—I have often heard the term, “gain
of function research”. Curious—I looked it up. A definition is difficult to
find and even more difficult to understand. The
Conversation asked four experts in the
field,

What
does gain of function mean?

“Any organism can
acquire a new ability or property, or “gain” a “function.” This can happen
through natural selection or a researcher’s experiments. In research, many
different types of experiments generate functions, and some pose certain safety
and security concerns. Scientists use a variety of techniques to modify
organisms depending on the properties of the organism itself and the end goal.
Some …read more