At a recent congressional hearing, Dr. Gerald Parker, Associate Dean of Texas A&M OneHealth College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, seemingly found more negative than positive things to say about gain-of-function research.

“There's another side to that dual-use, and that's the bad. How do we mitigate the misuse of these advancing technologies of someone who wants to do harm?” questioned Dr. Parker.

“If you're advancing research that can lead to a bioweapon, are we advancing research that also can lead to something good?” Rep. Brad Wenstrup pressed.

“... I think we have to be very careful and not exaggerate the benefits of that type of research,” cautioned Dr. Parker.