NEW: As The Intercept’s latest reporting details, research nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance engaged in what the U.S. government defines as “gain-of-function research of concern,” intentionally making viruses more pathogenic or transmissible in order to study them.

— The Intercept (@theintercept) September 10, 2021

“Making chimeric coronaviruses, mixing and matching RBDs [a part of the virus that allows it to attach to receptors] and spike proteins is exactly the scenario imagined by many lab-leak scenario proponents,” biologist Stuart Newman told The Intercept.

— The Intercept (@theintercept) September 10, 2021

The experiment also raises questions about assertions from Anthony Fauci and NIH Director Francis Collins that NIH-funded projects at the Wuhan Institute of Virology did not involve gain-of-function research.

— The Intercept (@theintercept) September 10, 2021

New information regarding the research conducted in Wuhan — brought to light only after The Intercept sued to get it — suggests that other key facts may still be hidden.

“The question is: What else did they do in more recent years that we’re not aware of?” said @Ayjchan.

— The Intercept (@theintercept) September 10, 2021

The documents do not establish whether Fauci was directly aware of the work prior to appearing before Congress in July to address questions posed by Sen. Rand Paul regarding the gain-of-function research.

— The Intercept (@theintercept) September 10, 2021

After NIH denied a Freedom of Information Act request from reporter @fastlerner, The Intercept filed a FOIA lawsuit and obtained over 900 pages detailing EcoHealth Alliance’s work on coronaviruses and collaboration with the Wuhan Institute of Virology. https://t.co/QAkzbwNwPf

— The Intercept (@theintercept) September 10, 2021

The complaint sought to “compel the NIH to disclose records demonstrative of funding it provided to virologist Dr. Peter Daszak to study the emergence of zoonotic diseases such as Sars-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic.”

— The Intercept (@theintercept) September 10, 2021

“Unsupported claims by Trump and Pompeo have politicized and polarized the issue and likely have had the effect of making an open investigation less likely,” said @R_H_Ebright, a professor of chemical biology at Rutgers University, in May of last year.

— The Intercept (@theintercept) September 10, 2021

The Intercept’s FOIA lawsuit sought to advance understanding of the virus’s origins “so that the U.S. and other governments and private institutions can most effectively prevent the next pandemic.”

— The Intercept (@theintercept) September 10, 2021

Meanwhile, questions about the origins of Covid-19 have already raised concerns about the safety of U.S. biolabs, in light of the specific type of gain-of-function research that’s come under scrutiny in light of the lab-leak hypothesis. https://t.co/VZmuPLKEkc

— The Intercept (@theintercept) September 10, 2021