zlacker

>>pseudo+(OP)
Whether or not COVID-19 was a half-baked biological weapon that was accidentally released, it would be great if we took this opportunity to actually end biological weapons research globally.

There’s no reason to think it’s more likely for China to screw up like this than the US, Russia, or the scores of other nations with similar programs.

>>hedora+as1
We shouldn't assume that it was designed to be a biological weapon. The Gain of Function research suspected to be the origin of this has many benefits for non-military uses like vaccine development & outbreak containment.

>>themac+bi2
Lay person here. What does gain of function mean? Thank you, kindly.

>>hi41+eB4
Basically the whole term Gain of Function Research is referring to any research that involves deliberate alterations to pathogens to make them more transferable(including the ability to infect other hosts) or deadly.