Trump signs order to pause ‘dangerous’ research citing COVID-19, security risks

President Donald Trump is taking aim at a controversial area of biological research

with an executive order, one that involves making viruses more transmissible or more deadly

This executive order puts in place a framework to make sure that the public has a say that if

such a risk is being taken, that only scientists alone won't be able to decide that. That in fact

the public can say, no, don't take this risk. On Monday, Trump put a pause in place to stop U.S. funding for gain-of-function research in foreign countries such as China

The move comes as part of a broader effort to tighten oversight, boost transparency, and prevent another pandemic like we've seen with COVID-19

All of the history of gain-of-function research, we can't point to a single good thing that's come from it

So what is gain-of-function research? The White House defines it as scientific work that modifies viruses to make them more harmful, harder to treat, or more contagious

Some examples are reducing vaccine effectiveness making pathogens more resistant to treatment or recreating extinct diseases Supporters of the research say it essential to track viruses and develop vaccines or modes of treatment However critics say the

risks, especially when it comes to a lab leak, are too high. Many scientists believe it's responsible

for the COVID pandemic. Following the pandemic, Republican leaders accused Dr. Anthony Fauci

and the National Institutes of Health of funding dangerous research at the Wuhan Institute of

virology, where officials theorized was the origin of COVID-19. Fauci has repeatedly said

no U.S. grant money was used for gain-of-function experiments, but the scrutiny only grew larger

when the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic said EcoHealth Alliance violated the

terms of their grant from the NIH. EcoHealth worked with the research lab in Wuhan to study

coronavirus in bats, which the committee says ignored the government's request for oversight

The White House says new policies will be developed in the coming months

Until then, gain-of-function research is on hold. For Straight Arrow News, I'm Kaylee Carey

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