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By Region: North America

US debuts life sciences dual-use research policy

(CIDRAP News) Federal health officials today unveiled a new policy for overseeing life sciences dual-use research, such as two recent H5N1 transmission studies that have sparked bioterror concerns as well as cries of censorship.

Bird flu: how two mutant strains led to an international controversy

(The Guardian) The advisory board’s reaction has sparked a rare crisis in science. The US government backed the NSABB, but many researchers say the work must be published in full, arguing public health will benefit. A group convened by the WHO recommended full disclosure, but ordered an urgent review of the security and safety of  Read More »

H5N1: Bungling dual-use governance

(Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists) Recent months have seen an increasingly confusing debate about new research on the adaptability and transmissibility of avian influenza A/H5N1, which was undertaken by groups in the Netherlands and the United States. Both studies were funded by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), and research results were sent for  Read More »

Biosecurity panel reconvenes to reexamine controversial bird flu studies

(Winnipeg Free Press) A bid from some quarters in the U.S. to resolve the ongoing controversy over two unpublished bird flu studies will begin to play out over the next two days as government biosecurity advisers reconvene to reconsider the issue. The National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity will meet Thursday and Friday in Washington,  Read More »

Why all our bird flu research should be published

(The Guardian) To me, the debate about the H5N1 mutations has become a debate about the role of science in society. Two questions should be addressed here: should this type of research be conducted at all; and if so, should all data generated by this research be published?

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