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A new peer-reviewed study published today in the journal American Society for Microbiology claims that U.S. government–funded researchers deliberately mutated SARS-CoV-2 in a laboratory setting and produced a variant that gained a new functional capability: immune system evasion through antibody resistance.
Under established scientific definitions, that qualifies as gain-of-function research.
According to a 2022 review published in Advances in Applied Microbiology:
“Gain-of-Function research on viruses is enhancing transmissibility, virus replication, virulence, host range, immune evasion or drug and vaccine resistance to get insights into the viral mechanisms, to create and analyze animal models, to accelerate drug and vaccine development and to improve pandemic preparedness.”
The study in question—funded in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)—demonstrates immune evasion and drug resistance in a coronavirus mutant.
The study—funded in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)—demonstrates the emergence of antibody resistance (a form of immune evasion) under laboratory conditions.
You can contact NIAID here, the NIH here, and HHS here to voice opposition to taxpayer-funded experiments on pandemic pathogens—particularly after Congress, the White House, the Department of Energy, the FBI, the CIA, and Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND) all acknowledged that the deadly COVID-19 pandemic was “likely” the result of a laboratory incident involving gain-of-function research.
Engineered Virus, Then Forced to Evolve
Researchers claim they used a genetically modified SARS-CoV-2, not a naturally circulating strain.
The virus was said to be engineered with deletions and a reporter system, but retained the ability to replicate.
They then:
- Serially passaged the virus through cells
- Applied increasing concentrations of neutralizing antibodies
- Forced the virus to adapt under immune pressure
This process resulted in the emergence of a dominant escape variant carrying the S371F mutation.
According to the study:
“Serial passaging of ?3a7b-Nluc under selective pressure identified a 1301B7 antibody-resistant mutant (ARM-B7) harboring an RBD mutation (S371F) that conferred resistance to 1301B7 and other RBD-directed NAbs (casirivimab, SC27, and sotrovimab).”
Mutation Gave Virus New Function: Immune Evasion
The original experimental virus did not exhibit high-level resistance to the tested antibodies.
After undergoing mutation and selection, the new variant displayed dramatic increases in resistance across multiple therapies.
The study documents these changes explicitly:
“ARM-B7 mutant exhibited a profound (~360-fold increase) resistance to 1301B7”
“Compared to the parental ?3a7b-Nluc (NT50 = 2.84 ng/mL), ARM-B7 mutant showed a greater than 300-fold increase in resistance to casirivimab”
“Resistance was even more pronounced against NAb SC27… with ARM-B7 (NT50 >10 µg/mL) showing greater than 679-fold reduction in susceptibility”
“the ARM-B7 mutant also exhibited high-level resistance (NT50 >100 µg/mL, >307 fold increase) to sotrovimab”
This represents a clear functional shift.
The mutated virus gained the ability to resist antibody defenses that the original version could not overcome in that experimental setting.
Definition Matches: This Is Gain-of-Function
By the field’s own definition, enhancing immune evasion or resistance to antibodies qualifies as gain-of-function.
That is exactly what occurred:
- A pathogen was genetically manipulated and experimentally pressured
- A mutation was selected and amplified
- That mutation enhanced immune evasion
Conducted Under BSL-2+ Conditions
The study states the work was performed under Biosafety Level 2+ (BSL-2+), despite using a replicating SARS-CoV-2 system.
Researchers justified the setup by describing the virus as “attenuated,” while acknowledging it retains functional replication necessary to generate resistant mutants.
Bottom Line
NIH and NIAID-funded researchers:
- Engineered a replicating SARS-CoV-2 system
- Forced it through mutation under immune pressure
- Produced a spike mutation (S371F)
- And demonstrated that this mutation enhanced immune evasion
Under the field’s own published definition—including immune evasion as a qualifying category—this study documents gain-of-function research.
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