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Biosecurity Board Recommends Full Publication of Bird Flu Studies

Posted by timothy on from the keeping-mum-about-the-zombies-though dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Two controversial scientific papers on a mutant form of the H5N1 avian flu virus should be published in uncensored form after a review determined there would be no immediate threat from releasing the data, a U.S. biosecurity panel said, revising its earlier decision."

7 of 21 comments (clear)

  1. The information is already out in the public... by acidfast7 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    as it has been disseminated previously (at conferences, etc...) Why is this "still" an issue? Just publish it and be done with it.

    1. Re:The information is already out in the public... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      Bird flu studies? Release them. Birds can't read anyway.

  2. Confirmation by openfrog · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Another confirmation, and a particularly revealing and interesting one at that, that there is no security trough obscurity.

  3. Fear Mongering (Case #674391) by tiberus · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Ah, the Great Belief (tm) that I (we) should somehow feeling inherently safer, sleep easier at night and be proud to bring our children into a world where only the Trusted Few (tm) know the Awesome Secrets of the Puniverse (tm). I'd like to be the first to call Bullshit but, many Great Seers have come down from the mountain and proclaimed thus before me.

    Can we, as a society, not see that it is our fear that puts us at risk and not knowledge? Trust me, the Bad Guys(tm) already know the Bad Stuff(tm). The fear based hording of information won't stop something bad from happening.

  4. The main news by mdsolar · · Score: 4, Interesting

    H5N1 will almost certainly become pandemic owing to mutations in the wild. The study showed that this is very likely. So, we know what to target in terms of vaccine development and with what urgency. It seems a lot of people missed this.

  5. Re:Profit by Cryacin · · Score: 2

    The bird flu the coop a long time ago.

    --
    Science advances one funeral at a time- Max Planck
  6. Cry wolf too often... by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Insightful

    One of these days, a pandemic will sweep across the globe and we will not be prepared. Not because we were not warned. But because we were warned far too many times.

    For fuck's sake, it's no longer a secret that the H5N1 pandemic was a big hype. At least publish it now and confess that you fucked up, that way you may retain at least a bit of credibility. Else you're just seen as the kid who cries wolf for fun (or in this case, profit).

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.