Gain-of-function (GOF) research, the deliberate engineering of pathogens to make them more infectious or deadly, is a reckless gamble with humanity's survival. The recent revelation that NIH-funded researchers at the University of Pittsburgh created a "Frankenstein virus" by fusing bird flu proteins (H5N1) with vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), is a glaring example of science gone rogue. This chimera, dubbed rVSV-H5N1dc2024, was designed to mimic bird flu's infection mechanisms, while being easier to manipulate in a lab. The justification? To test antibodies in milk from infected cows. But the risks of such experiments far outweigh any speculative benefit, and the insanity of this approach cannot be overstated.
The core issue with GOF research like this is that it creates pathogens that are unlikely to evolve in nature. The Pittsburgh team took a virus (VSV) that doesn't naturally infect cells like bird flu, and grafted onto it H5N1's hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) proteins, giving it the ability to enter and spread like a highly dangerous flu strain. This isn't studying nature, it's inventing new nightmares. Nature's evolutionary processes are slow and constrained by environmental pressures, often limiting the emergence of hyper-virulent pathogens. In contrast, GOF research fast-tracks the creation of super-viruses that would never exist otherwise, all under the guise of "preparedness." But preparing for a threat you've manufactured yourself is circular logic at best and catastrophic hubris at worst.
The claim that these experiments help us understand how to combat future pandemics is flimsy. The rVSV-H5N1dc2024 virus doesn't exist in the wild, so studying it offers little insight into natural viral evolution. Instead, it's a synthetic monster tailored to bypass existing immune defences, potentially rendering vaccines and antibodies useless. The researchers themselves noted that uniform antibody responses in cows could drive the virus to evolve escape variants, meaning their work might accelerate the very threat they claim to mitigate. This isn't science; it's playing God with a petri dish.
The second, and perhaps more terrifying, issue is the risk of escape. Lab leaks are not hypothetical, they're historical fact. The COVID-19 pandemic, as acknowledged by Congress, the FBI, the CIA, and the Department of Energy, likely originated from a lab-related incident involving GOF research. Yet, despite this lesson, labs worldwide, including in Pennsylvania, continue to tinker with pathogens that could dwarf COVID's devastation. The Pittsburgh study was funded by taxpayer money through NIH grants and conducted in a biocontainment lab, but no facility is infallible. Human error, equipment failure, or even sabotage, could unleash a lab-grown super-virus into the world.
Beyond accidents, there's the spectre of deliberate misuse. In an age of global instability, the idea that a terrorist group or rogue actor could access these engineered pathogens is not science fiction, it's a plausible scenario. The Pittsburgh researchers openly admit their virus is a replicating recombinant, meaning it can spread and infect like H5N1. If such a pathogen were stolen or released, the consequences could be apocalyptic. The COVID pandemic killed millions, whether through a pathogen or misguided interventions. A bird flu-based chimera, designed to evade immune defences, could make that look like a warm-up.
The world was promised "never again" after COVID, yet GOF research continues unabated, funded by the same institutions that oversaw the last disaster. The Pittsburgh study isn't an isolated case; similar experiments are happening globally, often without public scrutiny or debate. The Department of Health and Human Services, under RFK Jr., recently cancelled 22 mRNA projects, but spared bird flu vaccine research, showing how deeply entrenched this risky paradigm remains. Creating super-viruses to test defences is like setting your house on fire to practice firefighting; it's not just dangerous, it's insane.
The argument for GOF research hinges on fear: fear of the next pandemic, fear of being unprepared. But fear doesn't justify creating threats that don't exist in nature or risking global catastrophe through leaks or misuse. The resources poured into these experiments would be better spent on improving biosecurity, developing broad-spectrum antivirals, or addressing real-world health disparities. Instead, we're funding labs to build pathogens that could end us all.
Gain-of-function research, like the Frankenstein virus crafted in Pittsburgh, is a reckless endeavour that defies reason. It creates pathogens unlikely to emerge naturally, risks catastrophic leaks, and invites misuse by bad actors. The COVID-19 pandemic should have been a wake-up call, but the scientific establishment and its government backers are doubling down on the same dangerous experiments. It's time to slam the brakes on GOF research, defund these projects, and demand transparency and accountability. Humanity can't afford another lab-made disaster. The question isn't whether these pathogens can escape, it's how long the technocrats and science madmen, tempt fate before one does.
https://jonfleetwood.substack.com/p/nih-funded-pennsylvania-researchers
"An explosive new study confirms what federal officials would rather not put in plain words: U.S. government–funded researchers at the University of Pittsburgh say they have built a Frankenstein virus combining vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) with bird flu proteins.
The paper, published August 25 in the Journal of Virology, describes how scientists replaced VSV's natural glycoprotein with the hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) proteins from a Texas dairy cow strain of H5N1.
The result: a replicating recombinant virus, engineered to infect cells like H5N1 but easier to grow and manipulate in the lab.
The authors called it "rVSV-H5N1dc2024."
These developments raise fears that another man-made pandemic is coming, as Congress, the White House, the Department of Energy, the FBI, and the CIA have acknowledged that a lab-related incident involving gain-of-function research is the most likely origin of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pennsylvania is creating new vectors for disease that have never existed.
But risky bird flu experiments are being conducted around the world—without any mainstream attention or pushback.
Have we learned nothing from the man-made COVID pandemic that killed (whether with a pathogen or an injection) millions of Americans?
The new study comes as HHS Secretary RFK Jr.—who has scored many wins for the health freedom movement—cancelled 22 mRNA projects, except for the one creating vaccines for bird flu.
NIH-Funded Creation of a Chimera PathogenThe new work to generate never-before-seen disease vectors was conducted at the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Vaccine Research and Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics.
The Journal of Virology study lists funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including:
NIAID Division of Intramural Research: Contract 75N93021C0001, Option 13F
National Institute of General Medical Sciences: Grant 1R35GM154844
NIAID award UC7AI180311, which supports the University of Pittsburgh Regional Biocontainment Laboratory
Every author on the paper—Lindsey R. Robinson-McCarthy, Holly C. Simmons, Aaron L. Graber, Carly N. Marble, Grace W. Graudin, and Kevin R. McCarthy—is tied to Pittsburgh's Vaccine Research Center or School of Medicine.
How They Built the Virus & Gave It New FunctionsThe paper openly explains that researchers:
"used a replicating recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (rVSV-H5N1dc2024) that expresses the H5 and N1 from A/dairy cow/Texas/24-008749-001/2024 in place of its glycoprotein."
This engineered virus was then said to be tested against antibodies found in store-bought milk from states with infected cattle.
The stated goal was to measure how well milk antibodies could block infection.
But normal VSV cannot infect cells like bird flu.
By replacing its entry and release machinery with H5N1 proteins, the Pittsburgh team gave VSV a new function—the ability to behave like bird flu in terms of cell entry, immune recognition, and spread.
That is the textbook definition of gain-of-function research.
Why It's AlarmingFrankenstein construction: This is not natural H5N1. It's a synthetic chimera, built by splicing bird flu genes into a different viral backbone.
Taxpayer-funded: NIH contracts and grants bankrolled the project.
Gain of function: By replacing VSV's normal glycoprotein with H5N1's HA and NA, the researchers gave the new virus a function VSV never had before—the ability to infect cells and spread like bird flu.
Pandemic parallels: The authors themselves warn that the uniform antibody response in cows could push the virus to evolve faster, raising the risk of escape variants.
Bottom LineNIH-funded scientists in Pennsylvania have now admitted, in their own words, to creating a replicating recombinant Frankenstein virus—one that fuses bird flu's machinery for infection onto a different viral backbone.
This isn't surveillance.
This isn't harmless modelling.
It's gain-of-function by definition: taking a virus that never had the ability to behave like H5N1 and engineering it so it can.
After COVID, the world was promised "never again."
Yet here we are—with federal money flowing into the same type of risky experiments that intelligence agencies and Congress have already linked to the last pandemic.
The question is no longer whether these labs can build new pandemic-class pathogens.
The question is how long before one of them escapes—or is let out.
And used as justification for pandemic lockdowns and forced vaccination."