{"id":2019684,"date":"2023-09-01T17:41:02","date_gmt":"2023-09-01T21:41:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-gop-investigates-university-of-wisconsin-for-gain-of-function-research\/"},"modified":"2023-09-01T17:44:34","modified_gmt":"2023-09-01T21:44:34","slug":"house-gop-investigates-university-of-wisconsin-for-gain-of-function-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-gop-investigates-university-of-wisconsin-for-gain-of-function-research\/","title":{"rendered":"House GOP probes University of Wisconsin for &#8216;gain of function&#8217; study."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhouse-gop-investigates-university-of-wisconsin-for-gain-of-function-research%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2019684&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Investigation Launched into\u2062 Potentially Dangerous Virus\u2063 Research at University\u200c of Wisconsin, Madison<\/h2>\n<p>Rep. \u2064Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) has brought a conflict at \u200cthe\u200b state level\u200b into\u200b the national spotlight by\u200c launching an investigation into the University of\u200d Wisconsin, Madison&#8217;s\u2063 research on viruses with pandemic-causing potential. This investigation has \u200draised\u2064 concerns about the safety of gain-of-function research, which\u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-gop-investigates-university-of-wisconsin-for-gain-of-function-research\/\" title=\"House GOP probes University of Wisconsin for 'gain of function' study.\">involves \u200dmanipulating existing viruses<\/a>\u200c to\u200d acquire new\u200d qualities.<\/p>\n<h3>State \u2064Legislators Introduce Bill to Regulate Research<\/h3>\n<p>In August, three Republican state legislators in Wisconsin introduced a bill aimed \u200bat preventing universities and colleges\u2064 from conducting gain-of-function \u200dresearch. The bill also proposed that researchers submit safety reports to the state Department of Health Services prior to beginning research on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/completely-incorrect-fauci-denies-funding-gain-of-function-research-at-wuhan-lab-in-tense-exchange-with-rand-paul\/\" title=\"\u2018Completely Incorrect\u2019: Fauci Denies Funding Gain Of Function Research At Wuhan Lab In Tense Exchange With Rand Paul\">potential pandemic pathogens<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Letter to University Chancellor \u2064Raises Safety Concerns<\/h3>\n<p>As\u2063 chairman of the House Select\u2063 Subcommittee on the Coronavirus \u200dPandemic, Rep. Wenstrup sent \u200ba letter to the university chancellor, Jennifer Mnookin, expressing\u2062 his concerns about the university&#8217;s opposition to the proposed \u2064law. He highlighted several safety violations in the institution&#8217;s handling \u2063of\u2064 research on potential pandemic pathogens since \u20632011.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;UW has already shown \u200bit has the capabilities to modify pathogens and make them \u2064more dangerous,&#8221; Wenstrup wrote.\u2063 He cited an incident\u2062 in 2011 where a researcher modified \u2062the avian H5N1 influenza virus\u2062 to spread \u2064between \u200cferrets, which closely resemble human response to the flu. The H5N1 virus is a\u200d potential pandemic\u200c pathogen\u2064 that, through\u200c modification or mishandling, could cause another \u200bglobal pandemic.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Rep. Wenstrup also mentioned an \u2064incident in 2013 where a\u200b researcher was accidentally infected with the H5N1 virus due to\u2064 unauthorized use of a needle.\u2062 Despite assurances from the \u2064university, the \u200binfected researcher had to quarantine at home while their family stayed in a hotel.<\/p>\n<h3>University&#8217;s Response and Controversy<\/h3>\n<p>UW spokeswoman Kelly\u200c Tyrrell emphasized that the university \u2064has multiple layers of oversight\u2062 for research on\u2064 potential pandemic pathogens. She\u200c stated that the ability\u200d to study harmful \u200dviruses \u200cand pathogens safely is crucial \u2063for public health and food\u2063 supply\u2063 protection. However, she did not respond \u2062to further inquiries.<\/p>\n<p>The controversy surrounding gain-of-function and potential \u200dpandemic pathogen research is\u200d partly due \u200bto its\u200c connection to the origins of\u200c SARS-CoV-2, the virus\u2062 responsible for\u200d COVID-19. Some speculate that the virus originated from the\u200b Wuhan\u200d Institute of Virology in China, which \u2064has been \u200bcriticized for its safety standards.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;No one \u200ddenies there \u200ccan \u2063be dangers with &#8216;gain of function&#8217; experiments, especially if toxins and transmissible pathogens break out,&#8221; said Tom Still at the \u2062Wisconsin Technology Council, \u200copposing the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/virginia-and-california-democrats-push-back-against-gas-tax-relief\/\" title=\"Virginia and California Democrats Push Back Against Gas Tax Relief\">proposed state legislation<\/a>. &#8220;Wisconsin isn&#8217;t Wuhan, \u2063however, and \u2062it doesn&#8217;t make\u2063 sense to adopt a ban that would halt important research or put \u200dWisconsin scientists \u2062at a\u2064 competitive disadvantage.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3>Request for Documents \u2062and Communications<\/h3>\n<p>In his letter to Chancellor \u200bMnookin, Rep. Wenstrup requested all documents and communications related to the university&#8217;s research on potential pandemic pathogens and Dual Use Research of Concern. These documents are expected to\u2062 be provided to the subcommittee by \u200cSeptember 15.\u2064 Specifically, Wenstrup requested communications\u200c between university \u2063researchers, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and\u2064 EcoHealth Alliance,\u200c an \u2064organization \u2064that funds gain-of-function research.<\/p>\n<p>The Democrats on \u200dthe subcommittee\u200d declined to comment\u2062 on the investigation \u2063when approached\u2063 by the Washington Examiner.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\">Click here<\/a> \u200dto read more from the Washington \u2063Examiner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) initiated a probe into the University of Wisconsin, Madison&#8217;s risky virus research, elevating a state-level dispute to national attention. In August, three Wisconsin Republican lawmakers proposed a bill to prohibit gain-of-function experiments in universities and colleges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2019685,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2019684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2019684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2019684"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2019684\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2019685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2019684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2019684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2019684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}