Mary Wilson
Well-known member
12 JAN 2024
BY JOCELYN KAISER
A hearing this week in Wisconsin on a proposal to bar research that may make human pathogens more dangerous has scientists worried that such state bans would hamper a broad range of microbiology studies. Bills like Wisconsin’s could also conflict with or exceed new federal restrictions on so-called gain-of-function (GOF) research, due out any moment.
The Wisconsin bill is still early in the legislative process, and its prospects are uncertain. But the hearing gave a platform to a small, vocal group of scientists who want to forbid certain GOF studies. Several hold the controversial view that such research is to blame for the COVID-19 pandemic, claiming that the causative virus “leaked” from a Chinese lab that had, accidentally or intentionally, made a less harmful virus deadlier.
Many virologists and other experts disagree ...
https://www.science.org/content/article/wisconsin-bill-restrict-pathogen-studies-worries-scientists
BY JOCELYN KAISER
A hearing this week in Wisconsin on a proposal to bar research that may make human pathogens more dangerous has scientists worried that such state bans would hamper a broad range of microbiology studies. Bills like Wisconsin’s could also conflict with or exceed new federal restrictions on so-called gain-of-function (GOF) research, due out any moment.
The Wisconsin bill is still early in the legislative process, and its prospects are uncertain. But the hearing gave a platform to a small, vocal group of scientists who want to forbid certain GOF studies. Several hold the controversial view that such research is to blame for the COVID-19 pandemic, claiming that the causative virus “leaked” from a Chinese lab that had, accidentally or intentionally, made a less harmful virus deadlier.
Many virologists and other experts disagree ...
https://www.science.org/content/article/wisconsin-bill-restrict-pathogen-studies-worries-scientists