| Revision as of 03:28, 28 January 2021 view sourceScrupulousScribe (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users1,153 editsNo edit summary← Previous edit | Revision as of 08:49, 28 January 2021 view source Thucydides411 (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users6,778 edits →Funding: The sources about PREDICT do not mention gain-of-function research. There are much better examples of this type of research.Tags: Reverted Mobile edit Mobile web edit Advanced mobile editNext edit → | ||
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| == Funding == | == Funding == | ||
| In 2014, ] instituted a moratorium on gain-of-function research into ], ], and ], and paused funding for all projects for three years.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kaiser|first1=Jocelyn|last2=Malakoff|first2=David|title=U.S. halts funding for new risky virus studies, calls for voluntary moratorium|url=http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2014/10/us-halts-funding-new-risky-virus-studies-calls-voluntary-moratorium|access-date=28 July 2016|publisher=Science|date=17 October 2014}}</ref><ref>https://msphere.asm.org/content/1/2/e00069-16</ref> | |||
| == Risks == | == Risks == | ||
Revision as of 08:49, 28 January 2021
Field of medical researchGain of function research is a field of medical research focused on the serial passaging of bacteria or viruses in vitro, accelerating mutation processes to adapt their transmissibility, virulence and antigenicity, to better predict emerging infectious diseases and develop vaccines.
Types of Research
Virology
Gain-of-function research is employed to better understand current and future pandemics.
Vaccine development
Gain-of-function research is conducted in order to gain a head start on a virus and to develop a vaccine or therapeutic before it emerges.
History
The first gain-of-function experiments began in the late 1990s.
On February of 2000, a Dutch group at the Utrecht University lead by Peter Rottier published a paper on their gain-of-function studies titled "Retargeting of Coronavirus by Substitution of the Spike Glycoprotein Ectodomain: Crossing the Host Cell Species Barrier" detailing how they constructed a mutant of the coronavirus mouse hepatitis virus, replacing the ectodomain of the spike glycoprotein (S) with the highly divergent ectodomain of the S protein of feline infectious peritonitis virus. According to the paper, "the resulting chimeric virus, designated fMHV, acquired the ability to infect feline cells and simultaneously lost the ability to infect murine cells in tissue culture".
Funding
In 2014, The White House instituted a moratorium on gain-of-function research into influenza, MERS, and SARS, and paused funding for all projects for three years.
Risks
Main article: Biotechnology riskPrior to the ratification of the Biological Weapons Convention, gain-of-function experiments on viruses were conducted only by governments with biological weapons programs. Synthetic virology scientists and bioethics experts have raised concerns with the dual-use of gain-of-function research.
See also
References
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10627550/
- Kaiser, Jocelyn; Malakoff, David (17 October 2014). "U.S. halts funding for new risky virus studies, calls for voluntary moratorium". Science. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
- https://msphere.asm.org/content/1/2/e00069-16
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4996883/
- https://mbio.asm.org/content/5/4/e01730-14