A UW-Madison scientist who had to stop doing some Ebola virus research on campus because of biosafety concerns has plucked a vital gene from the deadly virus to create a version he and others say is safe to use in most labs.
Yoshihiro Kawaoka created the altered live Ebola virus more than a year ago in a high-level biosafety lab in Canada. He has been working with the altered virus at UW-Madison for about a year in a lab with basic biosafety standards, he said.