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By Category: Research

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 »

International Partnerships Focus on Preventing Animal Diseases

(Agricultural Research) Rift Valley fever, East Coast fever and foot-and-mouth disease are three devastating diseases that harm livestock and threaten the livelihood of poor farmers. To help keep animals alive, healthy and productive, scientists at the Agricultural Research …

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.

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 …

Flu research and public safety

(The Economist) The American government, in the shape of the country’s National Scientific Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB), called on the world’s two leading scientific journals to censor research. Nature and Science were about to publish studies by researchers …