"Vague language and extensive reviews could impede potentially useful research, some scientists fear"

"A new U.S. policy that aims to reduce the risks arising from federally funded research with dangerous pathogens is drawing mixed reviews from scientists, with even some who support tighter regulation fearing its vague wording could complicate, not clarify, the rules on what kinds of studies the government will support.

“The error bars for how [the policy] could be implemented range from too permissive to too restrictive,” says Marc Lipsitch, an epidemiologist at Stanford University who has advocated for stricter government controls on risky pathogen research.

Others are more critical. “I think it [is] intended to put a chill on all kinds of research that has anything to do with infectious diseases,” says Gigi Gronvall, an immunologist and biosecurity expert at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health."

Sara Reardon reports for Science July 29, 2026. [2]