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By Category: Research

Congressman criticises US handling of H5N1 papers

(Nature.com) An influential member of the US Congress remains dissatisfied with the government’s handling of two research papers on mutant forms of avian influenza, and is threatening legislation to control the controversial research. Jim Sensenbrenner (Republican, Wisconsin) today said that the lack of a cohesive policy for handling risky research funded by the National Institutes Read More »

June 27, 2012
| Filed under North America, Policy & Initiatives, and Research
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Freeze on mutant-flu research set to thaw

(Nature) If you thought that the controversy was over, think again. Last week’s publication of the second of two papers describing how to make mammalian-transmissible forms of the H5N1 avian influenza virus merely closes one chapter of a smouldering debate about the risks of the research. That debate seems certain to reignite in the coming Read More »

June 27, 2012
| Filed under Europe, North America, International, Policy & Initiatives, and Research
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Swine Flu Deaths In 2009 Topped Quarter Million, Study

(Medical News Today) Deaths worldwide from the 2009 influenza H1N1 “swine flu” pandemic are likely to be nearer 280,000, some 15 times more than the 18,500 reported from confirmed lab tests, suggests a new study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases this week. For the study, led by the US Centers for Disease Control and Read More »

June 27, 2012
| Filed under Europe, North America, Public Health, and Research
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CDC Biolabs Could Receive Independent Scrutiny

(Global Security Newswire) Specialists with the U.S. Army or a separate organization could give new scrutiny to biological defense research facilities operated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USA Today reported on Monday. The move would follow descriptions by the newspaper of multiple operational glitches in technology intended to prevent any escape of Read More »

June 27, 2012
| Filed under North America, Biosafety, Policy & Initiatives, and Research
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Planned “Centers of Excellence” Aim to Lower WMD Threat

(Global Security Newswire) Governments seeking to reduce threats from WMD substances could receive assistance from eight “centers of excellence” now being developed, four specialists indicated on Friday at the United Nations in New York. The organizations would serve in part to advance consistent regulations aimed at enabling improved exchanges of data and lessons learned within Read More »