Bird flu mutation sparks fears of deadly pandemic

[link to www.smh.com.au]

A GROUP of US scientists warns that current research runs the risk of releasing a virus that could kill half the world's population.

At a public meeting at the New York Academy of Sciences on Thursday night, some of the country's leading virus experts debated the censorship of research into bird flu.

Scientists are observing a 60-day moratorium on research into the virus, after two groups found a way to make it infectious by airborne transmission.

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