Skip to main content

Destroying the last samples of smallpox virus could prove short-sighted

Noted: But there can be no doubt that recreating the virus from scratch would be hugely controversial ? scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison recently provoked a storm of criticism when they recreated the deadly Spanish influenza virus that killed millions in the aftermath of the first world war, using fragments of avian flu viruses found in wild ducks. The researchers claimed the virus could inform influenza vaccine development.