Morning Briefing

"An international debate over whether to censor new research on bird flu may soon prove academic, as other laboratories close in on similar findings showing how one of the most deadly viruses could mutate to be transmitted from one person to another," Reuters reports. Last year, two teams of researchers reported study results "that showed how the H5N1 [bird flu] virus can be transmitted through airborne droplets between ferrets, a model for studying influenza in humans," and the findings prompted the U.S. National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) in December to advise "two leading journals, Nature and Science, to withhold details of the research for fear it could be used by bioterrorists," the news service writes.