Thread by @VintageKidsNL

I was intrigued,” says Ron Fouchier, in his rich, Dutch-accented English, “in how little things could kill large animals and humans

Gain-of-Function Mutation Experiments Explained freethink.com/health/gain-of…

This fascination led the silver-haired virologist to venture into controversial gain-of-function mutation research — work by scientists that adds abilities to pathogens, including experiments that focus on SARS and MERS, the coronavirus cousins of the COVID-19 agent.

The mutations that gave the virus its ability to be airborne transmissible are gain-of-function (GOF) mutations. GOF research is when scientists purposefully cause mutations that give viruses new abilities in an attempt to better understand the pathogen. In Fouchier’s experiments

they wanted to see if it could be made airborne transmissible so that they could catch potentially dangerous strains early and develop new treatments and vaccines ahead of time.

Gain-of-function mutation research can help us with that, says Fouchier, by telling us what kind of mutations might allow a virus to jump across species or evolve into more virulent strains. It could help us prepare and, in doing so, save lives.

Many of his scientific peers, however, disagree; they say his experiments are not worth the risks they pose to society.

The problem is: their mutated H5N1 could also cause a pandemic if it ever left the lab. In Science magazine, Fouchier himself called it “probably one of the most dangerous viruses you can make.”

For H5N1, Fouchier identified five mutations that could cause three special traits needed to trigger an avian flu to become airborne in mammals. Those traits are (1) the ability to attach to cells of the throat and nose, (2) the ability to survive the colder temperatures found in

those places, and (3) the ability to survive in adverse environments.

A minimum of three mutations may be all that’s needed for a virus in the wild to make the leap through the air in mammals. If it does, it could spread. Fast.

. Rutgers molecular biologist Richard Ebright summed up the far end of the opposition when he told Science that the research “should never have been done.”

“When I first heard about the experiments that make highly pathogenic avian influenza transmissible,” says Philip Dormitzer vice president and chief scientific officer of viral vaccines at #Pfizer, “I was interested in the science but concerned about the risks of both the viruses

themselves and of the consequences of the reaction to the experiments.”

In 2014, in response to researchers’ fears and some lab incidents, the federal government imposed a moratorium on all GOF research, freezing the work.

But in the meantime, the moratorium stifled some research into influenzas — and coronaviruses.

The National Academy of Science whipped up some new guidelines, and in December of 2017, the call went out: GOF studies could apply to be funded again.

As of right now, only Kawaoka and Fouchier’s studies have been approved, getting the green light last winter. They are resuming where they left off.

the Federal Select Agent Program. Pathogens on this list need to meet special safety considerations. The GOF experiments have even more stringent guidelines because the research is deemed “dual-use research of concern.”

“Dual-use research of concern is legitimate research that could potentially be used for nefarious purposes,” Moritz says. At one time, there was debate over whether Fouchier and Kawaoka’s work should even be published.

While the insights they found would help scientists, they could also be used to create bioweapons. The papers had to pass through a review by the U.S. National Science Board for Biosecurity, but they were eventually published.

Intentional biowarfare and terrorism aside the gain-of-function mutation flu must be contained even from accidents At Wisconsin that begins with the building itself The labs are specially designed to be able to contain pathogens (BSL-3 agricultural, for you Inside Baseball types)

They are essentially an airtight cement bunker, negatively pressurized so that air will only flow into the lab in case of any breach — keeping the viruses pushed in. And all air in and out of the lap passes through multiple HEPA filters.

Like all #school buildings we made safe😩

Inside the lab, researchers wear special protective equipment, including respirators. Anyone coming or going into the lab must go through an intricate dance involving stripping and putting on various articles of clothing and passing through showers and decontamination.

#school

And the most dangerous parts of the experiment are performed inside primary containment. For example, a biocontainment cabinet, which acts like an extra high-security box, inside the already highly-secure lab (kind of like the radiation glove box Homer Simpson

spring of 2014, another type of bird flu, H10N7, swept through the harbor seal population of northern Europe. Starting in Sweden, the virus moved south and west, across Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands. It is estimated that 10% of the entire seal population was killed.

The virus’s evolution could be tracked through time and space Fouchier says as it progressed down the coast Natural selection pushed through g-o-f mutations in the seals, similarly to how H5N1 evolved to better jump between ferrets in his lab which at the time was shuttered

Critics argue that the knowledge gained from the experiments is either non-existent or not worth the risk; Fouchier argues that GOF experiments are the only way to learn crucial information on what makes a flu virus a pandemic candidate.

#school building 🤔😉😩