The White House has unveiled tighter rules for research on potentially dangerous microbes and toxins, in an effort to stave off laboratory accidents that could unleash a pandemic.
The new policy, published Monday evening, arrives after years of deliberations by an expert panel and a charged public debate over whether Covid arose from an animal market or a laboratory in China.
But others warned against creating restrictive rules that would stifle valuable research without making people safer.
The debate grew sharper during the pandemic, as politicians raised questions about the origin of Covid.
Those who suggested it came from a lab raised concerns about studies that tweaked pathogens to make them more dangerous — sometimes known as “gain of function” research.
Locations:
China