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By Category: Policy & Initiatives

Bird Flu Studies Mired In Export Control Law Limbo

(NPR – Audio) Scientists who created mutant forms of bird flu want to see their research published, and an influential advisory committee recently gave them the green light after a debate that lasted for months. But one of the manuscripts is now being blocked from publication because of Dutch legal controls on the export of  Read More »

Export controls still blocking publication of Fouchier’s H5N1 study

(CIDRAP) Dutch export controls remain an obstacle to the publication of a study by Ron Fouchier, PhD, and colleagues on lab-modified, mammalian-transmissible H5N1 viruses, according to a National Public Radio (NPR) report today. A US government biosecurity committee recently approved full publication of Fouchier’s study describing H5N1 viruses that can spread among ferrets, as well  Read More »

USDA secretary touts importance of NBAF project

(Wall Street Journal) U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Tuesday that construction of the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility near Kansas State University should move forward and not be considered a “parochial” issue relevant only to Kansas. After a Landon Lecture Tuesday, Vilsack said having the proposed $650 million research facility was important to ensure  Read More »

Beyond the breach: Officials look back at safety and security a decade after anthrax scare

(FrederickNewsPost.com) Ten years ago today, a leaking flask of anthrax set off a series of events that led scientist Bruce Ivins to an unsettling discovery: Anthrax spores had made their way outside a containment lab, contaminating several areas and renewing fears that the community at large was at risk for possible exposure. Army investigators never  Read More »

Government Acts On Biosecurity

(The Biological SCENE) A long-awaited federal policy on oversight of dual-use research in the life sciences was issued on March 29 on a somewhat obscure government website (oba.od.nih.gov). The policy comes in the midst of controversy over the conduct and publication of two recent H5N1 avian flu experiments. The policy document was quickly followed by  Read More »

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