Risky ‘gain-of-function’ studies need stricter guidance, say US researchers

Photo caption: The number of laboratories equipped to conduct risky disease research is rising. Photo credit: Akos Stiller / Bloomberg via Getty. Article by Max Kozlov. Nature – May 3, 2022.

After a delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, US biosecurity board revisits policies governing risky pathogen experiments.

Researchers and biosecurity specialists are calling on the US government to issue clearer guidance about experiments it might fund that would make pathogens more transmissible or deadly. They made these pleas on 27 April, during the first of a series of public listening sessions organized by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). The sessions are part of a months-long review, conducted by the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB), of US policies governing risky pathogen research. […]

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