Trump officials halt 'dangerous' research, overriding NIH career scientists

[Zorro]

The Trump administration’s actions on NIH gain-of-function research have raised concerns among scientists, who argue the move could block experiments that are safe and potentially lead to new treatments and medicines.

In May, President Donald Trump signed an executive order in the Oval Office surrounded by his top health officials, vowing a crackdown on “dangerous gain-of-function research” on viruses and pathogens that he alleged was occurring in the United States with inadequate oversight. “It’s a big deal,” Trump had said, alluding to the highly contested theory that the covid pandemic was caused by a lab leak related to such research in China.

Soon after, researchers at the National Institutes of Health spent weeks assessing experiments for risk and preparing a report for the White House on what studies to halt, according to internal emails obtained by The Washington Post and interviews with two career staffers familiar with the process.

But after the director of the NIH’s infectious-disease institute signed off on the findings, the politically appointed No. 2 in command at the NIH, Matthew Memoli, overrode career staff, according to the emails and staffers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss internal deliberations.

Nearly a dozen tuberculosis studies that relied on long-standing research methods deemed safe by the reviewers were then added to the list.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025/07/16/nih-research-viruses-trump-administration/

[JohnnyRingo]

1. This country once feared being "bombed back to the stone age".

Trump doesn't need bombs, he's taking us there on his own as the cavemen who elected him rejoice.