The method chosen to spread the vaccine among the population is a self-replicating RNA (srRNA) or self-amplifying mRNA (saRNA or sa-mRNA, samRNA), also referred to as replicon vaccines.

This gain-of-function research is being supported by the US military.

The Architects of Destruction Are Busy at Work

By Dr. Guy Hatchard, 20 January 2026

Newly published research papers demonstrate that gain-of-function research designed to investigate the effects of deadly pathogens is still continuing. In the course of research, live mice are being exposed to deadly doses of laboratory-built recombinant synthetic H5N1 viruses with codon optimisation, which boosts expression in human cells and cleavage site enhancement linked to viral virulence.  Lethal doses of synthetic viral material containing artificial DNA sequences are being forced into animals using lipid nanoparticles ("LNPs") and electrical pulses. The aim of the research is to develop replicon mRNA vaccines and treatment strategies but alarmingly, the work is being partially funded by the US defence establishment and there are ties to multinational pharmaceutical companies.

A paper was published on 13 January 2026 in Nature Communications is entitled 'Intranasal replicon vaccine establishes mucosal immunity and protects against H5N1 and H7N9 influenza'. It reports the development of a self-replicating mRNA vaccine targeted at H5N1 and H7N9 viruses – so-called avian or bird flu viruses. The vaccine is administered with an intranasal spray, which is designed to attach itself to the nasal mucosa via a nanostructured lipid carrier and then replicate itself like a virus in the human body. The research was funded by the Department of Defence of the US government. One of the stated aims of the research is to develop proof of concept for an mRNA vaccine delivery system, which will overcome vaccine hesitancy and reach whole populations rapidly.

In a parallel development, an international team of researchers from USA, Canada and the EU have used so-called gain-of-function methods to design, engineer and test synthetic versions of the H5N1 bird flu virus's hemagglutinin protein – one of the key components that allows the virus to infect cells. Their results are reported in a Nature paper entitled 'Electroporation and LNP-mediated delivery of plasmid DNA-encoded H5N1 influenza virus hemagglutinin support protection against highly pathogenic avian influenza'. In summary, the paper reports that researchers have produced synthetic versions of a dangerous flu component and injected them into mice. They then exposed the animals to very deadly strains of the H5N1 virus to see how well their synthetic constructs functioned. Their research was funded by a US federal vaccine-development initiative said to be designed to prepare for future influenza outbreaks using rapidly adaptable genetic platforms.