Morning Briefing

"Representative Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), a former head of the House committees on science and the judiciary, and currently vice chair of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, last week sent a 'fact-finding letter' to White House science adviser John Holdren, asking pointed questions about how the U.S. government has handled the controversy" surrounding two studies that showed how H5N1 bird flu virus could be manipulated to become transmissible among ferrets, a model for humans, "and questioning whether it should have funded the two flu studies," ScienceInsider reports. "The [Obama] Administration's response has appeared ad hoc, delayed, and inadequate," Sensenbrenner writes, adding, "An ad hoc approach is inadequate to balance the priorities of public health and the free flow of academic ideas," according to the article, which includes the full text of the letter.