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By Category: Policy & Initiatives

Research on contagious H5N1 viruses: Space suits needed?

(CIDRAP News) Using the highest level of safety precautions for research on H5N1 viruses that can spread in mammals will certainly slow the advance of science, but it’s worth it in view of the grave risks involved, say commentators …

Pros and Cons Debated of Increasing Biosecurity in Labs Working With Engineered Bird Flu Viruses

(Science Now) Four papers published today in the online, open access journal mBio offer wide-ranging perspectives about the biocontainment facilities that researchers should use to work with bird flu viruses that can transmit in mammals.

Scientist Could Have Shifted Tack on Bird Flu Study Danger: Experts

(Global Security Newswire) Remarks last month by the top scientist on a Dutch team that produced a more transmissible version of the avian flu virus have prompted specialists and others to ask whether his recent characterizations of the study diverge significantly from his statements on the project last year, the Center for Infectious Disease Research  Read More »

Government Studies Inconclusive on Health Impact of Chemical Contaminants at Fort Detrick, Md.

(The National Academies) Two government-issued studies are unable to demonstrate whether people were harmed by groundwater contaminated with toxic pollutants from Area B of Fort Detrick, Md., says a new report by the National Research Council. Furthermore, it is unlikely that additional studies could establish a link, because data on early exposures were not collected  Read More »

New H5N1 viruses: How to balance risk of escape with benefits of research?

(EurekAlert!) In the controversy surrounding the newly developed strains of avian H5N1 flu viruses, scientists and policy makers are struggling with one question in particular: what level of biosafety is best for studying these potentially lethal strains of …

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