A Newly Engineered Flu to Kill Us All! (Or at least half of us anyway...)

[Mohoss]

http://gizmodo.com/5863078/engineere...-worlds-humans

Engineered Avian Flu Could Kill Half the World’s Humans

This isn't a movie. It's not a classic Science Fiction book. This is the real story of a scientist who created a virus with the power to litter the Earth with billions of dead bodies.

OK, now breathe. Or maybe don't—the virus is airborne.

In his Netherlands laboratory, virologist Ron Fouchier was experimenting with the avian flu virus to see how it could become even more virulent. (Red flag.) His research involved spreading it throughout a population of ferrets, and he noticed that as the virus reproduced, it adapted to spread even faster. (RED FLAG.) Not worried about ferret flu? Previous research has shown that any strains of influenza that can pass between ferrets can also pass between humans. (RED FLAAAAAAAAAG.) Ten generations later, his efforts had created an airborne strain with the power could kill half the human population. (RED FUCKING FLAG, DUDE!)

Fouchier, who conducted his research at Erasmus Medical Centre admitted that the new strain is "probably one of the most dangerous viruses you can make." He presented his work at the influenza conference in Malta this September. Now he wants to publish his study in a scientific journal, so those responsible for responding to bioterrorism can be prepared for the worst case scenario. Seems like a no-brainer, right? Not exactly. The research has set off alarms among colleagues who are urging Fouchier not to publish, for fear the recipe could wind up in the wrong hands. Some question whether the research should have been done in the first place. Fair point!

Typically H5N1 affects birds, but about 10 years ago it emerged in humans, first in Asia, then traveling around the world. Human cases are rare—about 600 total—but they are deadly, killing about half the people infected.

The reason avian flu isn't more common is because it's not an airborne contagion—at least it hasn't been until now. With the un-engineered version, you have to touch something that's been contaminated to get sick. But Fouchier's version is airborne, meaning being in the vicinity of the disease and breathing it in would be enough to contract it. It's as contagious as the human seasonal flu, but much more deadly. And now Fouchier wants to publish how he made it that way.

His fellow bioterrorism experts are thinking that's maybe not the best idea, because then anyone who got their hands on the paper could reproduce Fouchier's results. Microbial geneticist Paul Keim, an anthrax expert and chair of the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (which will decide whether Fouchier can publish) told Science Insider:

I can't think of another pathogenic organism that is as scary as this one. I don't think anthrax is scary at all compared to this.

But Fouchier and a handful of other scientists who have performed similar experiments believe publishing would help the scientific community prepare for an H5N1 pandemic. Not publishing, they say, could leave researchers in the dark as to how to respond to an outbreak. But a pandemic made possible in the first place by the publication creates a bit of a chicken and egg question—and that's why the NSAB has an unenviably difficult decision to make.

Struck me as interesting since I'm currently working on a microbio/biotech(not sure which yet) degree. Probably gonna take virology lecture/lab next semester or the semester after.

Thoughts on this?

[Jeryhn]

http://larryfire.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/stand.jpg

[Flarega]

Madagascar better shut down everything.

[Bregor]

Needs more Vajra.

[Yugl]

That's quite the story.

[kuronosan]

This is a load of horse shit and your virology course will teach you that rather well.

It's a logical disconnect and any scientist can tell you that.

Man makes lethal virus for ferrets.
Virus infects ferret.
Ferrets are known to pass viruses to humans.
Viruses can become airborne.
Therefore ferret-borne viruses can become airborne and pass to humans.

There's no guarantee that the virus would affect humans at all in vivo just because he produced these results in a lab in fucking ferrets.

Unless you start seeing people get sick from the fucking ferret flu this is just another case of dipshits thinking they're scientists because some guy in a lab told them something.

There are more harmful organisms sitting in our microbiology lab's incubator than this shit.

[Xantavia]

Man makes lethal virus for ferrets.
Virus infects ferret.
Ferrets are known to pass viruses to humans.
Viruses can become airborne.
Therefore ferret-borne viruses can become airborne and pass to humans.

Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but I read that article as he made a souped up version of a bird flu, and used the ferrets as a test subject. So I think it would be more.

Man experiments with lethal virus that is already contagious to humans.
Finds out that in ferrets virus can become airborne.
Oh shit! I just killed the human race.

(I don't personally get these yearly virus scares. Bird flu, swine flu, or whatever it is they are telling us to watch for. Just seems like a way to get buyers/ratings)

[Yugl]

I'm not as ingrained in science as you Kurono, but unless the article is miswritten, your premises aren't construed correctly (And I won't do them strictly either since they take FOREVER to do for this).

Assuming these are all the same X

1. X is influenza and mr.doctor has X
2. X has been modified to spread rapidly
3. Any X that can pass between ferrets can pass between humans
** It's uncertain whether the person writing the article meant this, but strictly based on what is written (Grammar and the like), this means ferret-ferret and human-human (Not ferret-human)
4. X has been modified to become air borne

Thus, we have an X that is influenza, spreads between people, is airborne, spreads more rapidly than the original influenza, and created by mr.doctor.

Actually, your main point is correct still; there is no sign of whether this is lethal to people as you say, so it would have to be assumed that the virus retained "lethalness" throughout the process. At the same time, however, you have to assume that the virus did not retain its "lethalness" if you wanted to argue the opposite.

[kuronosan]

Point well-taken. What I was trying to say was that just because the avian flu has an effect on humans doesn't mean that altering it, putting it into ferrets, and having ferrets infect humans will do anything.

It just seems like fear-mongering to me.

Maybe I'm reading the article wrong, I don't know. If it reads as I said, then it's bad science. If it doesn't, then I concede due to misunderstanding.

There are tons of bacteria, viruses, and fungi that don't infect humans that come from animals and there are those that do. It's the same with viruses.

It's just laughable to me, because they make it seem like all anyone has to do is get a hold of this guy's research to make the avian flu airborne.

It's not that hard to culture and aerosolize a virus if that's your true intent. Anyone capable of creating a biological weapon could do it in a virology lab with cells and free time.

In short, this guy hasn't done anything spectacular and this isn't news. It isn't any more news than people who think E. coli is the most deadly bacteria on the planet. When people start dying and coughing, then you can worry.

[hey]

It's not that hard to culture and aerosolize a virus if that's your true intent. Anyone capable of creating a biological weapon could do it in a virology lab with cells and free time.

I'm not virologist, but i'd imagine it's a little harder to make it spread across the entire world.

[Rhinox]

Was expecting a lot more big fonts and different color bolded words. I am disappoint.

[hey]

Also, arguing that it is bad science based on nothing more than the info from a news article written about something that is currently being kept secret is a bit silly. The article is not meant to be completely 100% scientifically accurate. And even if it was, it doesn't have the information required to do so. Until the paper is published, none of you have any way of knowing whether it is real or not.

[Diamicles]

at least it isn't airborne ebola or marburg

[kuronosan]

I'm not virologist, but i'd imagine it's a little harder to make it spread across the entire world.

Get a new imagination.

[Brutala]

If this were an actual threat there would already be a youtube video of Albert Bartlett dancing a jig.

[Ragnus]

Kicked the Swine Flu's ass without meds. *Challenge Accepted*

[Deadgye]

Fuck you naysayers. This guy spent 10 generations doing this shit, I'm assuming it works the way he says it fucking works. (Level of lethality is still in question though, imo. But it is based on something that's very deadly.)

[Athas]

So the article says it's as contagious as the flu but deadlier.

When has a flu strain ever infected half of the Earth's population?

[Myrrh_Quetz]

WON'T SOMEONE, PLEASE, THINK OF THE FERRETS.

[Cloudius]

So the article says it's as contagious as the flu but deadlier.

When has a flu strain ever infected half of the Earth's population?

Infecting ferrets in a lab and half of them die = half the human population would die, duh