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By Category: Policy & Initiatives

Decision time for researchers of deadly bird flu

(Reuters) When 22 bird flu experts meet at the World Health Organization (WHO) this week, they will be tasked with deciding just how far scientists should go in creating lethal mutant viruses in the name of research. The hurriedly-assembled meeting is designed to try and settle an unprecedented row over a call to ban publication  Read More »

Engineered Pandemics? A Memo To Bird Flu Virologists

(Science 2.0) As synthetic biology advances ever further, engineering potentially dangerous pathogens will only become easier. The uproar over the two new bird flu viruses must serve as a call to action; we need a new mechanism to ensure the safety of future studies …

Obama Requests $17.7M for FDA Biodefense Site

(Global Security Newswire) The Obama administration on Monday requested a $17.7 million outlay for preparing and performing checks on a U.S. Food and Drug Administration biological defense center planned in Silver Spring, Md., the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy reported (see GSN, May 4, 2011; Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. The  Read More »

Death-rate row blurs mutant flu debate

(Nature.com) When the US National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity called for redaction of two papers on mutant strains of H5N1 avian influenza virus, one reason it cited was the high fatality rate of the wild virus1. But some virologists claim that the mortality rate — 59% in officially confirmed cases — has been vastly  Read More »

White House cuts NBAF funding

(Wall Street Journal) President Barack Obama is recommending no additional funding in the next federal budget for construction of a new biosecurity lab in Kansas. The budget released Monday raises questions about the future of the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility …

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