Newly Released Documents Show NIH Funded Gain-of-Function Research in China: Experts

Contact Your Elected Officials
The Epoch Times Header

The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded research in China that created a more potent form of a bat coronavirus, according to newly disclosed documents.

An experiment conducted at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, situated near where the first cases of COVID-19 were reported, compared mice infected with the original bat coronavirus to mice infected with a modified strain created by researchers, according to the documents.

The mice infected with the modified version โ€œbecame sicker than those infectedโ€ with the original version, Lawrence Tabak, the principal deputy director at the NIH, told lawmakers in letters (pdf) on Oct. 20.

The โ€œlimited experimentโ€ was aimed at seeing if โ€œspike proteins from naturally occurring bat coronaviruses circulating in China were capable of binding to the human ACE2 receptor in a mouse model,โ€ Tabak wrote, adding that the โ€œunexpected resultโ€ was not โ€œsomething that the researchers set out to do.โ€

Whether intended or not, the research fits the definition of gain-of-function, some experts say.

โ€œThe genetic manipulation of both MERS and the SARS conducted in Wuhan clearly constituted gain-of-function experiments,โ€ Jonathan Latham, executive director of The Bioscience Research Project, told The Epoch Times in an email. โ€œFurther, it is absurd of NIH to describe the enhanced viral pathogenicity that was observed in the experiments they funded as โ€˜unexpectedโ€™ when clearly these experiments were expressly designed to detect increased pathogenicity.โ€

The NIH โ€œcorrects untruthful assertions by NIH Director Collins and NIAID Director Fauci that NIH had not funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan,โ€ Richard Ebright, a molecular biologist with Rutgers University, wrote on Twitter.

The newly released documents primarily consist of the fifth and final progress report (pdf) for the series of grants. The report was submitted on Aug. 3, over two years after the research concluded.

EcoHealthโ€™s final report also contained a description of experimenting on clones of MERS-CoV, a virus that caused an outbreak in the Middle East in 2012 and has a mortality rate of approximately 35 percent, according to the World Health Organization.

The scientists said they used a โ€œsimilar reverse genetics strategyโ€ that they utilized in studies of the bat coronaviruses and, after constructing a โ€œfull-length infectious clone of MERS-CoV,โ€ they replaced the receptor binding domain of the virus with domains from various strains of coronaviruses identified in bats from southern China.

Byย Zachary Stieber

Read Full Article on TheEpochTimes.com

The Epoch Times
The Epoch Timeshttps://www.theepochtimes.com/
Tired of biased news? The Epoch Times is truthful, factual news that other media outlets don't report. No spin. No agenda. Just honest journalism like it used to be.

AI is Now an Existential Threat

We now see evidence that artificial intelligence is an existential threat to our future. It is coming to take American jobs!

With or without

The mullahs of Iran have been at war with the West, particularly the US, for half a century and Iran is also the worldโ€™s foremost champion of terrorism.

Artificial Intelligence Equals Awful Iniquities

WSJ article โ€œAI is Learning to Escape Human Controlโ€ said in 79 of 100 trials, the o3 AI code systems edited their own code to prevent human shutdown!

VIDEO: Deranged Feminist vs. Mating Ducks in Epic Public Meltdown

A middle-aged white lady lib harasses mating ducks to โ€œstop it!โ€ because the rough sex they enjoy appears non-consensual on the part of the female.

RFK Jr. Slashes ALL U.S. Funding For Bill Gatesโ€™ Global โ€˜Vaccine Allianceโ€™

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. recently pulled all U.S. government funding from Bill Gatesโ€™ Global โ€˜Vaccine Allianceโ€™ GAVI.

Musk Again Wades Into Politics, Calls GOP Bill โ€˜Insane and Destructiveโ€™

โ€œThe latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country!โ€ Musk wrote in a Saturday post on X.

Nevada Seen as Case Study in Rapid Urban Sprawl Amid a Water Crisis

Nevadaโ€™s rapidly growing population has reached a critical intersection with the regionโ€™s worsening water crisis, according to experts.

US Streamlines Rule for Fining Illegal Immigrants, Will Issue Nearly $1,000 Daily Fines for Noncompliance

DHS and DOJ announced a new joint federal rule that streamlines the process of issuing fines for illegal immigrants, making it easier and more efficient.

Man Indicted on 12 Hate Crime Charges in Attack on Boulder Demonstration for Israeli Hostages

Boulder, CO man accused of hurling Molotov cocktails at demonstrators supporting Israeli hostages indicted by grand jury on 12 hate crime counts.

Canada-US Trade Talks Will End Until โ€˜Certain Taxesโ€™ Are Dropped, Trump Stresses

Trade discussions between Canada and the United States will end โ€œuntil such time as they drop certain taxes,โ€ U.S. President Trump said in an interview.

Trump Says US to Send Tariff Letters to Trade Partners Before July 9 Deadline

President Donald Trump said Sunday he will soon send letters to trading partners detailing the tariffs to be imposed on their exports to the United States.

Trump Says He Found a Buyer for TikTok

President Trump said he found a buyer for the Chinese-owned short video application TikTok, and that he will reveal the group in roughly two weeks.

Termination of โ€˜Wasteful Contractsโ€™ Saves US Government $470 Million Last Week: DOGE

Over the past seven days, various government agencies have terminated 312 โ€œwasteful contractsโ€ with a ceiling value of $2.8 billion, the DOGE said.
spot_img

Related Articles