Scientists at Penn and across the country insist that the breakdown of this protocol resulted in little if any risk to those who came in contact with the animals. Indeed, colleagues say it is because sheep do not contract HTLV-1 that Ferrer was performing this experiment; he was hoping to identify and isolate the immunological compound that protects the sheep from the virus. And neither the vet students nor any of the others who have subsequently been tested are infected with HTLV-1.
Any scientist fed up with the current regulatory system governing work with biohazards may want to take a page from plant pathologist Gary Strobel's book and disregard the system altogether. Though he broke the law and endangered all federally funded work at Montana State University, all Strobel has to show for it today are the souvenirs of a hero: increased recognition throughout the scientific community, some 200 letters ...
