Transmission electron micrograph of H5N1 virions.WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL
Yesterday (February 29) at a short-notice meeting held by the American Society of Microbiologists, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases head Anthony Fauci announced that government agencies will ask the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) to reconsider publication of controversial H5N1 research.
These “two most famous unpublished manuscripts in modern science history,” as infectious disease researcher and NSABB panel member Michael Osterholm described them to MedScape, contain details of how to engineer the H5N1 virus to become more transmissible in ferrets, raising concerns of a bioterrorism threat. After the NSABB recommended that parts of the papers be redacted, furious debate has stirred among government officials, scientists, and even the World Health Organization (WHO) over whether the research should be published.
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