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A comment on What went on inside the Wuhan lab weeks before Covid erupted. Parent comment

Re:What went on inside the Wuhan lab weeks before Covid erupted by naasking on Monday June 12, 2023 @09:55AM (#36293465)
> You can explain one of the many reasons why gain of function research is necessary: anticipating next year’s version of the flu, designing drugs and vaccines such that resistance mutations reduce evolutionary fitness.

None of these require gain of function research.

> You can explain some of the safeguards in place: BSL 3/4 facilities, regulatory / institutional oversight, security services, etc.

All of these have a long history of failures [1,2]. And those are just the acknowledged, some have actually been covered up [3].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_laboratory_biosecurity...

[2] https://www.amazon.ca/Pandoras-Gamble-Leaks-Pandemics-World/...

[3] https://health.wusf.usf.edu/health-news-florida/2023-04-25/d...

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:What went on inside the Wuhan lab weeks before Covid erupted by pfisherman on Monday June 12, 2023 @10:24AM (#36293960)
> None of these require gain of function research.

Please elaborate on this. How should I go about anticipating which mutations in which genes / protein will result in resistance to a candidate therapy / molecule / mechanism that I am considering advancing into phase 1 trials?

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:What went on inside the Wuhan lab weeks before Covid erupted by PM_me_your_math on Tuesday June 13, 2023 @10:59AM (#36311214)
It is dangerous to play bio-engineer, and then handle what you create like Gomer Pyle.
[ Parent | on HN ]