Pentagon asked for ‘gain of function’ research proposals years before COVID-19 pandemic, top virologist tells Congress

WASHINGTON — A War Department program requested proposals for so-called “gain of function” experiments that could make viruses more infectious nearly two full years before the COVID-19 pandemic began, a top US virologist told Congress earlier this year.

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Ralph Baric, a prominent coronavirus researcher, told the Senate Homeland Security Committee in a closed-door interview...