Earlier this week, a yearlong federal investigation ended with the classification of 11 pathogens in a new category of microorganisms that require the most stringent security standards in research. Known as Tier 1 select agents, the list includes organisms that cause deadly diseases such as anthrax, smallpox, plague, and Ebola hemorrhagic fever. While the new ruling is meant to tighten security surrounding the listed pathogens, such as requiring rigorous criminal background checks and periodic monitoring, it also removes some of the red tape imposed on researchers working with other potentially dangerous microorganisms that did not make the list, ScienceInsider reports. Here's a full list of the newly blacklisted agents:
Bacillus anthracis (Anthrax disease)
Burkholderia mallei (Glanders)
Burkholderia pseudomallei (Melioidosis or Whitmore's disease)
Ebola virus
Foot-and-mouth ...
