2015:

US virologist Baric publishes in Nature that he has - with the assistance of the Wuhan Institute of Virology - produced a bat coronavirus which could "emerge" in humans

Testing a SARS (1) vaccine:

"The vaccine failed to protect aged animals [mice] in which augmented immune pathology was also observed, indicating the possibility of the animals being harmed because of the vaccination."

On risks:

"This approach must be considered in the context of the US government–mandated pause on gain-of-function (GOF) studies. On the basis of previous models of emergence, the creation of chimeric viruses such as SHC014-MA15 was not expected to increase pathogenicity... SHC014-MA15 shows a gain in pathogenesis. On the basis of these findings, scientific review panels may deem similar studies building chimeric viruses based on circulating strains too risky to pursue, as increased pathogenicity in mammalian models cannot be excluded."

Under "Methods" the authors describe the work as being done in Wuhan IoV:

"Pseudotyping experiments were similar to those using an HIV-based pseudovirus, prepared as previously described, and examined on HeLa cells (Wuhan Institute of Virology) that expressed ACE2 orthologs."

Did they rely on cloth masks?:

"All virus cultivation was performed in a biosafety level (BSL) 3 laboratory with redundant fans in the biosafety cabinets, as described previously by our group2. All personnel wore powered air purifying respirators (Breathe Easy, 3M) with Tyvek suits, aprons and booties and were double-gloved."