Staff / TruthdigJan 26, 2012
University of Tokyo scientist Yoshihiro Kawaoka is making the case for unfettered access to studies in which researchers made a lethal bird flu virus even deadlier by taking it airborne. To those determined to find it, the recipe is already available, he warns, and the mutation could occur outside the laboratory at any moment. All hands to the urgent task of developing a vaccine, then. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )
Staff / TruthdigDec 28, 2011
More than half of the people infected with H5N1 -- the bird flu virus -- are dead, so it's a damned good thing the virus isn't airborne. That is, until now. U.S.-funded researchers in the Netherlands have successfully engineered a viral H5N1 strain that can spread through the air, realizing fears of a potentially weaponized germ that infects easily and kills half its victims. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )
Staff / TruthdigNov 30, 2011
In what may turn out to be a really bad idea, Dutch scientists have created a strain of the bird flu virus that maintains its 60 percent kill rate and is easily transferred between mammals, and they’re looking to tell the world how they did it. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )
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Staff / TruthdigJan 25, 2011
Japanese authorities aren't waiting for test results, although it will take days to cull the animals. A strain of flu was identified at a poultry farm, prompting a series of safety precautions. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )
Andy Borowitz / TruthdigApr 8, 2006
Satirist Andy Borowitz reports that our emergency preparedness experts have the bird flu situation under control. Mostly, they're counting on a natural disaster to wipe out the bird population. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )
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