Deadly diseases are sometimes acquired due to cross-species infection from animals to humans. Deadly diseases are sometimes acquired due to the transfer of pathogens during animals to human transmission, also called cross-species infection.
According to the zoo, an 11-year-old snow leopard who was one of five big cats to test positive for COVID-19 in an Illinois zoo last month has perished from the virus's consequences.
AP Photo/Ng Han Guan
The 2015 publication of a gain-of-function study that details the creation of a chimeric virus certainly raises questions that need answers. However, the researchers made a stunning omission that becomes all the more alarming considering the goal of gain-of-function research.
Back in 2012, Dr. Anthony Fauci pushed for gain-of-function research, claiming it was worth the risk. These comments are part of a legitimate debate within the scientific community. The theory yet to be realized is that researchers can create close approximations of viruses that may emerge from nature through gain-of-function research. Then treatments can be developed, targeting likely genetic or protein targets on the chimeric virus.