[quote][IMG]https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/12/20/science/20VIRUS/20VIRUS-jumbo.jpg[/IMG]
Federal officials on Tuesday ended a moratorium imposed three years ago on funding research that alters germs to make them more lethal.
Such work can now proceed, said Dr. Francis S. Collins, the head of the National Institutes of Health, but only if a scientific panel decides that the benefits justify the risks.
Some scientists are eager to pursue these studies because they may show, for example, how a bird flu could mutate to more easily infect humans, or could yield clues to making a better vaccine.
Critics say these researchers risk creating a monster germ that could escape the lab and seed a pandemic.
...
Critics of such research had mixed reactions. “There’s less than meets the eye,” said Richard H. Ebright, a molecular biologist and bioweapons expert at Rutgers University.
Although he applauded the requirement for review panels, he said he would prefer independent panels to government ones.
He also wanted the rules to cover all such research rather than just government-funded work, as well as clearer minimum safety standards and a mandate that the benefits “outweigh” the risks instead of merely “justifying” them.[/quote][URL="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/19/health/lethal-viruses-nih.html?mtrref=undefined&gwh=6118E52457399EACBF21D581180EA3DC&gwt=pay"]
[/URL][URL]https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/19/health/lethal-viruses-nih.html?mtrref=undefined&gwh=6118E52457399EACBF21D581180EA3DC&gwt=pay[/URL]
[URL]https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/12/19/571744856/nih-lifts-ban-on-research-that-could-make-deadly-viruses-stronger[/URL]
why couldnt they just research how to make viruses less lethal?????? i am so confused
[highlight](User was banned for this post ("Didn't read" - GunFox))[/highlight]
[QUOTE=Flameon;52991569]why couldnt they just research how to make viruses less lethal?????? i am so confused
[highlight](User was banned for this post ("Didn't read" - GunFox))[/highlight][/QUOTE]
proposed research, in the end, hopes to do that. first they want to figure out how a virus can mutate so that it becomes easier to infect humans. which would, hopefully, eventually lead to more effective vaccines and prevent deadly pandemics.
[QUOTE=Pat.Lithium;52991731]proposed research, in the end, hopes to do that. first they want to figure out how a virus can mutate so that it becomes easier to infect humans. which would, hopefully, eventually lead to more effective vaccines and prevent deadly pandemics.[/QUOTE]
Do you want zombies? Because this is how you get zombies
[QUOTE=mdeceiver79;52991762]Do you want zombies? Because this is how you get zombies[/QUOTE]
Pack your bags for Madagascar, then.
[QUOTE=mdeceiver79;52991762]Do you want zombies? Because this is how you get zombies[/QUOTE]
i'm not ruling it out as a possibility, but i'm saying it's worth the risk.
[QUOTE=Pat.Lithium;52991794]i'm not ruling it out as a possibility, but i'm saying it's worth the risk.[/QUOTE]
Not while white supremacist still walk the street.
[QUOTE=doombman;52992164]How is this supposed to be relevant at all? The main argument is if the benefits that may come from the research outweigh the risks of a potentially crippling epidemic.[/QUOTE]
Nazi zombies
[QUOTE=Megadave;52992054]Not while white supremacist still walk the street.[/QUOTE]
How is this supposed to be relevant at all? The main argument is if the benefits that may come from the research outweigh the risks of a potentially crippling epidemic.
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