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By Category: Policy & Initiatives

US Requires New Dual-Use Biological Research Reviews

(Science AAAS) The new DURC policy—months in the making, and in part a reaction to the ongoing controversy over research involving the H5N1 avian flu viruses—will expand current reviews already conducted by two major biomedical research funding agencies, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Both agencies Read More »

March 30, 2012
| Filed under North America, Biosafety, Policy & Initiatives, and Research
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Journals Pursue Guidelines on Publishing Sensitive Disease Research

(Global Security Newswire) Editors for two scientific journals are developing plans for balancing scientific interests and security concerns in publishing potential future research that could have biological weapons applications, the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy reported on Wednesday. Clinical Infectious Diseases and the Journal of Infectious Diseases “are developing policies that address these Read More »

March 30, 2012
| Filed under Europe, North America, International, Policy & Initiatives, and Research
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Flu Redux

(Science Now) Late last year, the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) had recommended that two science teams delete key details from papers submitted to Science and Nature that describe how researchers made the H5N1 avian influenza virus more transmissible between mammals, possibly providing a blueprint for starting a flu pandemic.

March 30, 2012
| Filed under Europe, North America, Biosafety, International, Policy & Initiatives, and Research
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US debuts life sciences dual-use research policy

(CIDRAP News) Federal health officials today unveiled a new policy for overseeing life sciences dual-use research, such as two recent H5N1 transmission studies that have sparked bioterror concerns as well as cries of censorship.

March 30, 2012
| Filed under North America, Biosafety, Policy & Initiatives, and Research
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Bird flu: how two mutant strains led to an international controversy

(The Guardian) The advisory board’s reaction has sparked a rare crisis in science. The US government backed the NSABB, but many researchers say the work must be published in full, arguing public health will benefit. A group convened by the WHO recommended full disclosure, but ordered an urgent review of the security and safety of Read More »