Experts debate over research into H5N1 flu virus

Two research groups, working independently, developed mutant versions of the H5N1 avian flu virus that could be transmitted through the air between ferrets, making H5N1 potentially very dangerous to humans. Each group then wanted to publish their work, sparking a controversy within the science community on the usefulness of the work and the wisdom of publishing details of such work.

In an article in the April issue of The Scientist, a panel of science and policy experts debated the merits of this research. The panel included Edward Sylvester, a professor in ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, who worked with Lynn Klotz, a senior fellow at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, Washington, D.C., providing opinions on the work.

“The most critical question about any inherently dangerous research is not, ‘What are the benefits?’ It is rather, ‘Do the benefits outweigh the risks?’” Klotz and Sylvester state. “In this case, the answer to the question is ‘No.’”