Opinion: Gain-of-function research advances knowledge and saves lives
Congress is considering a massive overhaul of the nation’s scientific enterprise, much of it in the name of ensuring competitiveness with China and other nations that are pouring billions into research. Like the U.S., these countries recognize the importance of the “bioeconomy” and the role of research and innovation in the 21st century.
Yet for all the opportunity that would be afforded by these investments, a few policymakers are using these measures to advance simplistic and misguided notions regarding the complexities of specific research techniques. Many of these concerns center around gain-of-function research. In this work, scientists alter an organism to give it new abilities. Gain of function is now being depicted by some in Congress and in the media as sinister. Some have even called for an end to gain-of-function studies altogether without recognition that it is a widely accepted research technique employed by scientists around the globe.
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