Wisconsin bill to restrict pathogen studies worries scientists

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 disagree, favoring a natural origin for the pandemic. One, Gigi Kwik Gronvall, a biosecurity expert at Johns Hopkins University, says the bill “will create uncertainty” that will deter the state’s scientists from doing important work to prepare for future pandemics. “Their hearts are in the right place—I mean, who doesn’t want to stop pandemics and prevent lab accidents?” she says of the bill’s sponsors. “But this bill won’t do that.” The statewide GOF bans, which have also been proposed in Texas and are law in Florida, reflect a debate sparked 13 years ago when two labs funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) mod...
Source: Science of Aging Knowledge Environment - Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research