(U) APPENDIX A: DEFINITIONS
(U) Antibody: A protein produced during an immune response to a part of an infectious agent called an antigen.
(U) Backbone: A genetic sequence used as a chassis upon which to build synthetic constructs, such as those used for cloning, protein expression, and production.
(U) Biosafety: The application of knowledge, techniques, and equipment to prevent personal, laboratory, and environmental exposure to potentially infectious agents or biohazards. Four Biosafety levels (BSL) define the containment conditions under which biological agents can be safely manipulated. These standards range from moderate safety requirements for low-risk agents (BSL-1), to the most stringent controls for high-risk agents (BSL-4). China’s standards range from P1–4.
(U) Biosecurity: The protection, control of, and accountability for biological agents, toxins, and biological materials and information to prevent unauthorized possession, loss, theft, misuse, diversion, and accidental or intentional release.
(U) Coronavirus: A family of common viruses that can infect humans and/or animals. The human illness caused by most coronaviruses usually lasts a short time and presents symptoms consistent with the “common cold,” such as a runny nose, sore throat, cough, and fever.
(U) COVID-19: An infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is a betacoronavirus.
(U) Diagnostic Information: Information that allows IC analysts to distinguish between hypotheses—in this case, the laboratory origin and natural origin theories.
(U) DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid): A molecule that carries an organism’s genetic blueprint for growth, development, function, and reproduction.
(U) Gain-of-function: The IC considers this as a research method that involves manipulating an organism’s genetic material to impart new biological functions that could enhance virulence or transmissibility (e.g., genetically modifying a virus to expand its host range, transmissibility, or severity of illness). The IC assesses that genetic engineering, genetic modification, and laboratory-adaptation can all be used for gain-of-function experiments, but are not inherently so.
(U) Genetically engineered or genetically modified viruses are intentionally altered, created, or edited using biotechnologies, such as Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat (CRISPR), DNA recombination, or reverse genetics. These viruses have intentional, targeted edits to the genome designed to achieve specific results, but unintentional genomic changes may also occur.
(U) Genome: The genetic material of an organism. It consists of DNA (and sometimes RNA for viruses).
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