Pinkerton: Dr. Fauci, Meet Dr. Frankenstein – Did ‘Gain of Function Research’ Create a Monster?
Gain of Fear
In the last few weeks, we’ve all learned a new phrase from the eerie realm of virology: “gain of function research.” Abbreviated as GOFR, it’s defined as “any field of medical research that alters an organism or disease in a way that increases pathogenesis, transmissibility, or host range (the types of hosts that a microorganism can infect).”
So yeah, just to hear about it, gain of function research sounds dangerous. And yet many experts say that it is a good idea, because that’s how we learn about viruses and how to counter them. One expert who has made this argument is Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institutes for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID); he’s the man who has, of course, during the Covid-19 pandemic, become a household name.