The key to that point is the phrase "PREDETERMINED conclusion" (emphasis mine). Scientific method does not predetermine a conclusion and then tailor "facts" to support the conclusion. Today's woke scientists unfortunately do just that, following the current non-think that reality isn't real. As non-woke scientists are fighting their way through the media-borne avalanche of sheer bull...., actual facts are finally coming to light. Thanks for your input, CircuitGuy. Discussions like this make a person work the brain.

"And why was it that hard for the scientific community to postulate a likely origin of COVID-19? [...]They confirmed the predetermined conclusion that the virus likely had little to do with gain-of-function engineering.

Yet, scientific opinion, emerging evidence, and basic logic have suggested the opposite."
Scientific opinion changing with emerging evidence is a feature of science, not a bug.

The article compacts many questions asked in the Gulch. Worth reading!