How the U.S. Lost Control of Bird Flu, Setting the Stage for Another Pandemic
scientificamerican.com
scientificamerican.com
SciAm in 2021:
> The riskier version of gain-of-function research creates viruses with abilities they do not have in nature. In two separate studies in 2011, scientists famously and controversially did just that with the H5N1 influenza virus, or “bird flu,” resulting in a version capable of airborne transmission among ferrets.
> The naturally occurring virus does not have this ability.
> Making mammal-to-mammal transmission easier set off alarm bells and triggered discussion of a U.S. moratorium.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-scientists-tw...