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By Category: Policy & Initiatives

Experts Weigh in on Bird Flu Research

(PBS NewsHour) Earlier this month, the scientists who altered the H5N1 virus to create a more contagious strain that’s transmissible between ferrets, agreed to a temporary moratorium, due to safety concerns. That decision has, if anything, intensified the debate. What began as a question on whether scientific journals should publish the complete research has grown Read More »

January 31, 2012
| Filed under Europe, North America, Agents & Toxins, International, Policy & Initiatives, Public Health, and Research
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A hinge moment for the BWC?

(Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists) Although it was an eleventh-hour decision, the Seventh Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWC) Review Conference in Geneva did manage to produce a consensus final document this past December. As the saying goes, “a win is a win,” and in the end the final document — adopted with less than Read More »

January 31, 2012
| Filed under Africa, Asia/Pacific, Europe, Middle East, North America, South America, South Asia, Biological Weapons, International, and Policy & Initiatives
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Tauscher stepping down as undersecretary of state for arms control

(Foreign Policy) Following her successful battle with esophageal cancer, Ellen Tauscher is taking a step back and handing over several of her responsibilities as the State Department’s top arms control official, State Department officials told The Cable today. In early February, Tauscher will formally resign as undersecretary of State for arms control and international security Read More »

January 30, 2012
| Filed under North America and Policy & Initiatives
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Kansas residents oppose plans for federal lab

(San Francisco Examiner) The $650 million lab would do research on deadly plant and animal pathogens, including foot-and-mouth disease, and critics said during the two-hour meeting that the risks outweighed the benefits of building it near Kansas State University.

January 30, 2012
| Filed under North America, Agriculture, Biosafety, Policy & Initiatives, and Research
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Sunday Dialogue: Bird Flu Experiments

(New York Times) Further, all stocks of these mutants, as well as their “recipes” should be deposited immediately in highest-security Biosafety Level 4 facilities, and all further research conducted only in such facilities, thereby maximizing environmental safety and …