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sign reading "bio-security precautions, no unauthorized personnel"
Opinion: Coronavirus and Regulating Access to High-Risk Pathogens
Overbearing restrictions on research into toxins and pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2 could undermine public health and security in the long run.
Opinion: Coronavirus and Regulating Access to High-Risk Pathogens
Opinion: Coronavirus and Regulating Access to High-Risk Pathogens

Overbearing restrictions on research into toxins and pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2 could undermine public health and security in the long run.

Overbearing restrictions on research into toxins and pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2 could undermine public health and security in the long run.

biosafety lab

a biosafety suit hanging in a hallway
CDC Shuts Down Army Lab’s Disease Research
Shawna Williams | Aug 6, 2019 | 2 min read
The agency cites lapses in biosafety procedures at the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases in Maryland.
The Strange and Stranger Case of Wyndham Lathem
Anna Azvolinsky | Aug 24, 2017 | 5 min read
A Northwestern University plague researcher has been charged with a brutal murder. Here’s what we know about him.
CDC Reassigns Lab Regulation Chief
Bob Grant | Dec 9, 2015 | 2 min read
After a string of breaches involving anthrax, Ebola, and bird flu, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reportedly replaced the director of its Division of Select Agents and Toxins.
Toward Eliminating Poliovirus—In the Lab
Rina Shaikh-Lesko | Nov 16, 2015 | 5 min read
As the world inches closer to polio eradication, laboratories studying the virus will have to bolster biosafety standards. Eventually, most will need to stop working with the pathogen entirely.
DoD Under Investigation for Pathogen-Handling Mistakes
Jef Akst | Sep 16, 2015 | 2 min read
US Defense Department labs are the subject of inquiry following several safety breaches concerning the handling of deadly bacteria and virus strains. 
Mistaken Anthrax Shipments
Jef Akst | Jun 5, 2015 | 1 min read
The Defense Department reports that live samples of the deadly bacterium may have been accidentally shipped to more than 50 labs in the U.S. and abroad.
CDC Scores Poorly on Biosafety
Jef Akst | Mar 25, 2015 | 2 min read
In the wake of numerous safety breaches at the federal agency, a new report finds US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention oversight “inconsistent and insufficient at multiple levels.”
Risky Research Halted at Tulane
Jef Akst | Mar 3, 2015 | 1 min read
Federal officials suspend research on certain pathogens at Tulane University following the escape of potentially dangerous bacteria from a high-security lab.
CDC Seeks Safety Chief
Jef Akst | Jan 2, 2015 | 1 min read
In the wake of numerous biosafety breaches, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looks to hire a chief of laboratory safety.
CDC Tech Exposed to Ebola?
Jef Akst | Dec 29, 2014 | 2 min read
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lab mistakenly transferred the wrong Ebola samples—ones that may have contained live virus—to another agency lab.
Top Science Scandals of 2014
Jef Akst | Dec 24, 2014 | 2 min read
The stem cell that never was; post-publication peer review website faces legal trouble; biosecurity breaches at federal labs
Haste Caused CDC Bird Flu Contamination?
Jef Akst | Aug 19, 2014 | 1 min read
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scientist who accidentally leaked H5N1 into a benign strain of avian influenza may have been rushing off to a meeting.
CDC Lab Resumes After Safety Lapses
Kerry Grens | Jul 25, 2014 | 1 min read
A high-security tuberculosis lab at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may return to transferring hazardous materials.
Week in Review: July 14–18
Tracy Vence | Jul 18, 2014 | 3 min read
Converting heart muscle to pacemaker cells in pigs; alternative splicing and the human proteome; questioning a reported yogurt mold-illness link; H. pylori swiftly find mouse stomach injuries
Government Cracks Down on Biosecurity
Tracy Vence | Jul 15, 2014 | 2 min read
After a string of incidents leading to lab closures and a moratorium on the transfer of select agents, US labs are reassessing safety threats within their own walls.
CDC Halts Hazardous Biomaterial Transfers
Tracy Vence | Jul 11, 2014 | 2 min read
Following recent high-profile safety lapses in government labs, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has placed a moratorium on movement of biological materials from BSL-3 and BSL-4 facilities.
Safe Flu Research Strategy
Chris Palmer | Aug 12, 2013 | 1 min read
Researchers develop a new “molecular biocontainment” strategy for safely studying deadly flu viruses.
Regulating Dangerous Research
Kate Yandell | Feb 23, 2013 | 2 min read
The US government has come out with new rules for life science research deemed risky.
Dude, Where’s My SARS?
Dan Cossins | Jan 21, 2013 | 1 min read
The release of infectious agents from the lab is not uncommon, but lab-acquired infections are rare.
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