"Gain-of-function" (GOF) researchScientists support research which increases microbes’ virulence, transmissibility, or host range
Amid new concerns about lab safety lapses and in a counterpoint to recent calls for restrictions on research that may render pathogens more dangerous, thirty-six scientists from several countries have issued a formal statement asserting that research on potentially dangerous pathogens can be done safely, and is necessary for a full understanding of infectious diseases. The statement rejects calls for limiting “gain-of-function” (GOF) research, that is, experiments which involve increasing the virulence, transmissibility, or host range of microbes.
Amid new concerns about lab safety lapses and in a counterpoint to recent calls for restrictions on research that may render pathogens more dangerous, thirty-six scientists from several countries have issued a formal statement asserting that research on potentially dangerous pathogens can be done safely and is necessary for a full understanding of infectious diseases.
The group, which calls itself Scientists for Science, includes the two scientists who have been most prominently associated with “gain-of-function” (GOF) research: Ron Fouchier, Ph.D., of Erasmus Medical Centre in the Netherlands and Yoshihiro Kawaoka, DVM, Ph.D., of the University of Wisconsin.
A CIDRAP release notes that GOF research refers to experiments that involve increasing the virulence, transmissibility, or host range of microbes. The statement does not refer specifically to GOF studies but clearly relates to them, though not exclusively.
Confidence in safety
“Scientists for Science are confident that biomedical research on potentially dangerous pathogens can be performed safely and is essential for a comprehensive understanding of microbial disease pathogenesis, prevention and treatment,” the statement reads. “The results of such research are often unanticipated and accrue over time; therefore, risk-benefit analyses are difficult to assess accurately.”
The Scientists for Science statement comes in the wake of lab safety lapses involving Bacillus anthracis and H5N1 avian flu at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the discovery of smallpox virus samples in a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) facility. The incidents have increased concern about lab safety in general and the risks of GOF research in particular.
On 14 Jul another group of scientists, who call themselves the Cambridge Working Group, called for a halt to research involving the creation of “potential pandemic pathogens,” especially flu viruses, pending a full assessment of the risks and benefits and of whether the same information could be gained by safer methods. Two days later, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said the safety of studies that involve the generation of potential pandemic pathogens deserves more public discussion.
