I'm starting to think that every scientist in the world should be forced to play the old-school Resident Evil games before they're allowed to mess with viral engineering. OK, I'm mostly kidding. The overall care and responsibility of the scientific community is basically the only thing that's kept us safe from the actual zombie apocalypse. Nevertheless, occasionally we see something like this and go, "Um, science? You... you doin' OK, buddy?" Ladies and gentlemen, super contagious bird flu.
While doing research on H5N1 avian flu (the boogeyman of a couple years back, you'll recall) virologist Ron Fouchier of the Erasmus Medical Centre developed a version of the virus that's extremely contagious. Why would anyone do that? Well, some medical professionals believe the resulting data could help prepare for a pandemic. Others are a little more concerned about the bird flu research, fearing that the data might provide a blueprint for someone looking to create the contagious pathogen on purpose. TDW Geek reports,
U.S National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) chairmain Paul Keim says Fouchier's super-flu is the scariest pathogenic organism he can think of.
So, there you have it: A battle in the scientific community over the results from a potentially dangerous and/or potentially illuminating experience! Sounds like the beginning of a great Michael Crichton bird flu novel.
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