Misleading American Scientists and the Wuhan Institute of Virology

American scientists involved in a 2018 research proposal called DEFUSE, which aimed to engineer high-risk coronaviruses, concealed their intention to conduct the research in Wuhan under lax safety standards from the Pentagon. The proposal involved synthesizing spike proteins with furin cleavage sites, the same feature found in SARS-CoV-2. Documents obtained by U.S. Right to Know reveal that the experiments were proposed to occur in Wuhan with fewer safety precautions than required in the U.S. to save on costs. The documents raise questions about the credibility of the scientists' assurances that the pandemic could not have originated from their collaboration with the Wuhan lab. The gain-of-function research was not funded by DARPA, but it remains unclear if it was subsequently completed without funding.