Pandemics are really very good for public health funding! (this is a joke) In seriousness though, there's a strong evolutionary incentive that acts on organiza

Pandemics are really very good for public health funding! (this is a joke) In seriousness though, there's a strong evolutionary incentive that acts on organizations to not eliminate their raison d'être. Perhaps gain-of-function is some version of that because it ensures that there's something to do even when there's nothing to do.