The United States Agency for International Development announced a $125 million grant to Washington State University to detect "Emerging viruses." Viruses that have not yet "Emerged" are those that are manipulated in the lab, aka gain-of-function research.
As Newsweek reported, the "Second phase of the project, beginning that year , included additional surveillance work but also gain-of-function research for the purpose of understanding how bat coronaviruses could mutate to attack humans. The project was run by EcoHealth Alliance, a nonprofit research group, under the direction of president Peter Daszak."6.
It's important to note that the moratorium on federal funding of gain-of-function research instituted in 2014 was initiated on the heels of a high-profile lab mishap at the CDC and controversial experiments over deadly bird flu virus that was manipulated to be more contagious.
"The documents contain several critical details about the research in Wuhan, including the fact that key experimental work with humanized mice was conducted at a biosafety level 3 lab at Wuhan University Center for Animal Experiment - and not at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, as was previously assumed."
According to The Intercept, Richard Ebright, molecular biologist at Rutgers University, also reviewed the documents released in the FOIA. He told The Intercept that the documents contained vital Information about the research being conducted in the Wuhan lab.
How much genetic manipulation and gain-of-function research that occurs as a result of the $125 million grant to the university may not come to light for years.
It is incumbent on our government to ensure biosafety in the labs doing the research and, for the public, to call for a halt of this type of research that "Create[s] large risks that don't already exist."38.
Friday, October 29, 2021
U.S. Government Just Poured $125 Million Into Gain-of-Function Lab Leak Research this Month
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