U.S. government's draft guidance on funding for H5N1 research receives 'mixed reception,' Science reports

"Researchers are giving a mixed reception to a draft U.S. government plan to do more stringent funding reviews of certain kinds of H5N1 avian influenza research -- and perhaps even require some studies to be kept secret," Science reports. "The proposal, presented last week at a meeting of the government's National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) in Bethesda, Maryland, is the latest fallout from the controversy surrounding two studies in which scientists engineered the H5N1 virus, which normally causes deadly infections in birds, to move between mammals, potentially opening the door to a human pandemic," the magazine continues. The plan contains "seven criteria that a study would have to meet to be eligible for NIH funding," the magazine notes and includes reaction from several researchers. According to Science, "NIH says it will soon release for public comment a white paper that details the plan, and officials will present it at an international workshop on H5N1 research that HHS is hosting in Bethesda on 17 and 18 December" (Malakoff, 12/7).