Nature Medicine added a note to a five-year-old study acknowledging its use in unverified theories about COVID-19's origin. The study involved controversial gain-of-function research by Wuhan Institute of Virology scientist Shi Zhengli and leading coronavirus expert Ralph Baric. Virologist Simon Wain-Hobson suggests this note was an early tactic by the scientific establishment to obscure the link between lab research and the pandemic. Emails and documents reveal efforts by NIH leaders like Francis Collins and Anthony Fauci to dismiss the lab-leak theory. Ralph Baric's central role and his connection to Wuhan research are now under scrutiny, with the federal government removing him from grants and UNC placing him on leave. UNC has also hindered government efforts to gather more information on Baric's research. Baric's public statements on his work have reportedly not always aligned with his private reservations about risky experiments. Investigations into the pandemic's origins have faced significant obstacles, with Baric's involvement noted by congressional staff. A classified document viewer believes the virus originated from a Wuhan lab due to uncontrolled virus mutation experiments. Baric's gain-of-function research, which creates more dangerous viruses, has a long history of controversy. A 2011 flu virus experiment led to calls for new rules on such studies, though they continued with limited oversight. Despite a temporary pause on gain-of-function research in 2014 due to safety lapses elsewhere, lobbying led to the resumption of these studies. Emails reveal a secret lobbying campaign by NIH officials and Baric's former employee, Matt Frieman, to influence Obama administration policy on gain-of-function research. This lobbying involved collecting examples of halted studies to weaken the moratorium. A previously hidden 2018 grant proposal by Baric and Shi Zhengli is seen by many as a blueprint for the COVID virus.