Assessing the Biological Weapons and Bioterrorism Threat

[Presley Cannady]

Now can the 'door' be closed?

Why do you think it was ever closed?

[davidbfpo]

Why do you think it was ever closed?

Presley,

I understood that scientific research had prior to the Internet been largely communicated within the community in printed journals etc. For others to gain access was not impossible, but would take time and effort. Now the Internet makes access cheap, rapid and easy. I have assumed in this example that much of the Dutch work, if not the formulas, are in the public domain and can be found by those who wish harm.

This part of the scientific community appear to have been oblivious to the dangers, even when the traditional methods of oversight have been used, hence my reference to:

peer reviewed research and a scientific conference

Which you refer to as:

controlled conditions

Hardly much sign of those conditions applying, hence my use of the analogy of a door being closed.

[Presley Cannady]

Presley,

I understood that scientific research had prior to the Internet been largely communicated within the community in printed journals etc. For others to gain access was not impossible, but would take time and effort. Now the Internet makes access cheap, rapid and easy. I have assumed in this example that much of the Dutch work, if not the formulas, are in the public domain and can be found by those who wish harm.

You can assume that journal subscription costs are negligible compared to laboratory costs. If not, then you can assume that evolution has already done most of the work for you and that mischief arising from the accessibility of knowledge is comparable to the risk of spontaneous outbreak and trivial compared to the risk of development and exploitation by nefarious parties.

And ultimately that is the objective of virology (at least performed in the pursuit of medical ethics): to understand and mitigate as much of the space of viral evolutionary pathways as possible as early as possible.

This part of the scientific community appear to have been oblivious to the dangers, even when the traditional methods of oversight have been used...

Can we honestly say that when the researchers themselves are pointing out the extraordinary lethality of this particular H5N1 strain?