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Each week Science Magazine holds an online chat with top experts on the hottest topics in science as part of their ScienceLive Series.
And this week you’d be hard pressed to find a hotter topic than the ongoing debate over the conducting and publishing of H5N1 bird flu transmissibility research (see The Furor Over H5N1 Research Continues).
On Thursday, January 12th at 3 pm EST, moderator Martin Enserink will welcome CIDRAP director Michael Osterholm and Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health Virologist Andrew S. Pekosz for an hour long discussion.
The details from Science Magazine:
Live Chat: Should Science be Censored?
by Martin Enserink on 10 January 2012, 1:43 PM See below for the chat box.
Join us each Thursday at 3 p.m. EST for a live conversation with leading scientists and expert reporters.
Today's Topic
The debate continues about two papers that resulted in H5N1 influenza strains that are more easily transmissible between mammals and may have the potential to trigger a pandemic. Last month, the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) recommended that key details be redacted from the studies, which are under review at Nature and Science. Some say that's a blow to scientific freedom; others argue the studies should never have been done in the first place.
This week, we'll talk about the benefits and risks of the H5N1 transmissibility studies and whether they should be published in full. Also on the table: Should experiments that could help aspiring bioterrorists be more tightly regulated--and if so, how? Our guests are two influenza experts, including a member of the NSABB.
Join us for the live chat at 3 p.m. EST on Thursday, 12 January, on this page. You can leave your questions in the comment box below before the chat starts.
I’ll post a reminder on Thursday morning, since given the topic and the participants, this should be a terrific discussion.
