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Today, the White House announced a pause in a specific type of research on viruses. Rather than being a response to the recent Ebola infections, this dates back to events that began in 2011 ( http://arstechnica.com/science/2012/02/study-of-deadly-flu-sparks-debate-amidst-fears-of-new-pandemic/ ). Back then, researchers who were studying the bird flu put it through a series of lab procedures that ended with a flu virus that could readily infect mammals. Some members of the scientific community considered this work irresponsible, as the resulting virus could, again, potentially infect humans.
Similar research and a debate over its value and threat have continued. Now, however, the Obama administration decided to put it on hold. Prompted by several recent biosafety lapses (including the discovery of old smallpox samples at the National Institutes of Health), the government will temporarily stop funding for these projects. During the pause, the government will organize a "deliberative process" ( http://www.phe.gov/s3/dualuse/Documents/gain-of-function.pdf ) that will consider the value of the research and the appropriate safety precautions that will need to be followed if it's done. The review will be run by a combination of the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity and the National Academies of Science.
http://arstechnica.com/science/2014/10/us-announces-pause-in-funding-for-changing-the-species-a-virus-targets/
[Announcement]; http://m.whitehouse.gov/blog/2014/10/17/doing-diligence-assess-risks-and-benefits-life-sciences-gain-function-research
(Score: 2) by Subsentient on Sunday October 19 2014, @11:53AM
Humans are too stupid to be dealing with this kind of thing anyways.
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." -Jiddu Krishnamurti
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 19 2014, @12:19PM
And too stupid to figure it a criminal idea to begin with.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 19 2014, @01:09PM
This is the kind of anti-intellectualist bullshit that one would expect from FoxNews. Basic safety protocols are enough to ensure complete safety and humans are smart enough to follow basic safety protocols to the letter. If there is a problem with following safety protocols, then that's a problem with your culture, not with humanity.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 19 2014, @02:22PM
Basic safety protocols are enough to ensure complete safety
What fantasy land do you live in? Is it a special place where everyone has their training up to date and there are no industrial accidents?
(Score: 2) by davester666 on Sunday October 19 2014, @05:03PM
Yes. Nobody ever gets complacent here, and we have a perfect record of hiring people who never get disgruntled with anything in their personal or professional lives.
Course, I'm the only one working here, alone in the middle of nowhere, with no one to talk to except myself.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Gravis on Sunday October 19 2014, @10:16PM
Yes. Nobody ever gets complacent here, and we have a perfect record of hiring people who never get disgruntled with anything in their personal or professional lives.
it seems like certain types of dangerous biology research experiments (like the kinda that could wipe out most of humanity if it got loose) should have protocols that make it impossible for any one person to accidentally (or intentionally) spread an infectious agent. basically, it would mean all storage and manipulations would be done using robots located in a sealed room. so if scientists can do it all from a single computer terminal, there is no need for physical access and thus an elimination of risk.
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Monday October 20 2014, @04:46AM
I think the point was that to do this with an intent to weaponize is criminal. Doing it with an intent to understand viral mutation, while noble and scientific and all, tends to make the weaponization easier and inevitable. And as for protocols, seems like this is a species-wide problem. I do not recall ever reading or hearing that Murphy's Law was specific to one particular culture. And if any culture should be immune to such things, it would be the Germans and the Japanese. They have both had well know and public failures in the recent past.
(Score: 2) by Joe on Sunday October 19 2014, @11:26PM
Mother Nature is already performing these experiments.
Do you think that the H5N1 that is in chickens and migrating birds don't mutate?