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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: 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.