A Google search for "Frio Cave" makes the Uvalde County, Texas destination look like a tourists' dream. One quickly learns that the cave is home to tens of millions of Mexican free-tailed bats, and ...

Gain-of-function experiments can help researchers get ahead of viruses naturally gaining the ability to infect people in the wild. But they're also used for many other areas of study within biology.

On May 5, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order with the seemingly benign title, “Improving the Safety and Security of Biological Research.” A more accurate title would have been, ...

Trump signed an executive order banning federal funds for ‘gain of function’ research abroad The research alters viruses to increase transmissibility or severity in the name of preparedness Scientists ...

Disease X is an unknown pathogen capable of causing a devastating pandemic. This term was coined by the World Health Organization in 2018 and was under discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, ...

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, we’ve heard a lot about gain-of-function research, and some of its risks, particularly regarding the possible creation of dangerous pathogens. But there’s a lot ...