Gain of function (GOF) research has gotten a lot of attention since the Covid-19 pandemic because it could be the reason the pandemic started in the first place. Many believe that researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China used gain of function to make bat coronaviruses more deadly and transmissible in humans. Gain of function research is often done to mitigate the spread of or treat a deadly pathogen. But if the cat gets out of the bag, so to speak, that kind of research can be deadly, and with global consequences. In this episode of America Uncovered we look at Boston University's alleged gain of function research on the coronavirus, what oversight there is for labs doing gain of function research, and how common gain of function research really is.