Dr. Anthony Fauci is likely never going to acknowledge the National Institutes of Health (NIH) used taxpayer money to fund risky research in China, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Monday. “Even the NIH admitted this week that basically they did merge viruses, and they became more dangerous,” Paul said. “That’s gain of function. They gained lethality. I don’t think Fauci is ever going to admit it.” The NIH disclosed new information on its funding of experiments on bat coronaviruses and MERS in China last week. Experts said the disclosures showed the agency did fund gain-of-function research. Gain-of-function generally refers to increasing the pathogenicity and/or transmissibility of a virus. One of the experiments resulted in a one log, or 10 times, growth in a modified virus, the NIH said. Fauci, the head of the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, defended the research, alleging it did not meet the …