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By Category: Policy & Initiatives

The risks and benefits of publishing mutant flu studies

(Nature.com) Research describing two mutant strains of H5N1 avian influenza that spread between mammals is likely to be published in its entirety. Nature examines the controversial decision. Two teams of scientists, led by Ron Fouchier of Erasmus Medical Center in …

Senior US Lawmaker Leaps Into H5N1 Flu Controversy

(Science AAAS) After months of silence from members of Congress, a senior member of the US House of Representatives has publicly inserted himself into the debate over two controversial studies that showed how to make the H5N1 avian influenza virus transmissible …

Planned CDC Funding Cut Seen Endangering Key Biodefense Efforts

(Global Security Newswire) Congressional appropriations for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention might fall by $664 million under the Obama administration’s fiscal 2013 budget request, a reduction that could significantly undermine U.S. medical preparedness and countermeasure programs if backup funding sources fall through, the journal Nature reported on Tuesday. The proposed reduction would  Read More »

NSABB Members React to Request for Second Look at H5N1 Flu Studies

(Science AAAS) The comments below come after months of rapid-fire developments in the H5N1 flu research controversy. It began late last year, when the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) recommended that two science teams delete key details from …

Mutant bird flu virus still as deadly as first thought

(New Scientist) The US National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) advised against publishing details that an evildoer could use to make a nasty bioweapon. The journal involved, Science, agreed to the advice, but only if those details could be confided to …

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