There is no definitive evidence to indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic was caused by a lab leak in Wuhan, China. And yet, the fact that the theory has been bandied about has led to renewed conversation about the safety protocols of laboratories that engineer and study potentially dangerous pathogens. The work being done in these environments is broadly called "gain-of-function" research (GOFR)—a range of scientific study that engages in the manipulation of an organism's DNA in order to change its biological functions.

Gain-of-function research has paved the way for numerous medical developments, from cancer treatments to effective vaccines. However, the creation of drug-resistant "superbugs" in laboratories (formally known as enhanced Potential Pandemic Pathogens, or ePPPs) poses certain public health risks if a leak were to occur. Some gain-of-function research strikes additional fears because of its potential applications to bioweapons (referred to as Dual Use Research of Concern, or DURC).

The Biological Weapons Convention, a multilateral disarmament treaty that effectively bans biological and toxin weapons, took effect in 1975—and as of 2022, has the compliance of 184 states. Even so, the memory of a 1979 accident in a secret bioweapons facility in the Soviet city of Sverdlovsk keeps the global fear of biological warfare alive. To read more about this historic incident, click here.

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