EBRIGHT: This is one of several methods to do gain-of-function. One can do it by serial passage. One can do gain-of-function by making chimeric viruses; one can do gain-of-function by starting with a virus and engineering mutations into the virus.

DICHRON: So, gain-of-function means you simply change the virus, regardless of which process you use?

EBRIGHT: It refers to starting with a pathogen and making that pathogen more transmissible, or more lethal, or more able to overcome countermeasures.

DICHRON: Can you explain to people why scientists are doing this research?

EBRIGHT: It is not being done for practical purposes. It has produced no actionable results — no results that would, for example, be useful for preventing or responding to a pandemic. It is being done for career advancement. The experiments are simple to perform. They are highly publishable and highly fundable.

Developing an antiviral drug typically has a timeline of 20 years and a probability of success of one in 20. In contrast, gain-of-function experiments can take just six months, and the probability of success would be nearly 100%.

With gain-of-function, one can move very quickly to results, to publication, and then to a next grant.

https://disinformationchronicle.substack.com/p/a-candid-conversation-with-richard

https://boriquagato.substack.com/p/peter-daszak-supervillain-origin?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=email\ Peter Daszak