'More than 50 senior scientists from 14 countries, including three Nobel laureates and several fellows of the Royal Society, have written to the European Commission denouncing claims that the ferret experiments are necessary for the development of new flu vaccines and anti-viral drugs.
They also said it is "untrue" to state that the new mutations in the laboratory strain of H5N1, which have enabled the bird-flu virus to be airborne transmissible between ferrets and, potentially, people, have already been seen in nature.
The ferret research is being carried out by Ron Fouchier and colleagues at the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam. He has been involved in a legal dispute with the Dutch government which has insisted that he needs an export licence before his H5N1 work is published in a scientific journal.
The Dutch government claimed that the work to study the mutations needed to make H5N1 airborne transmissible between ferrets or people has a possible dual civil-military function and could be misused by bioterrorists.
"It has to be mentioned that, in this specific case, the 'gain of function' was used to reproduce what nature already selected (as demonstrated by sequencing of field mutants) with the variation that the aim of the study was to predict/anticipate biological evolution and to provide us with critical information to specify preventive and therapeutic measures," Professor Palu wrote.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/untrue-statements-anger-over-work-to-make-h5n1-birdflu-virus-more-dangerous-to-humans-9018666.html
Ok, so what the Dutch scientist is saying is that he is essentially reproducing the mutations that would likely / could happen in nature anyway, and therefore this would help in developing treatment for those new mutations -- should they ever appear in nature.
Sounds like playing with fire to me. A Michael Chrichton novel, if it weren't so cliche and obviously stupid.
I guess this makes sense assuming they don't breed a superflu, and assuming if they do it doesn't escape. Is it worth the risk? Murphy's law, and all that.
(I re-read the article, looks like they succeded, they got H1N1 to be airborne)
