Scientists Create Hybrid, Air-Transmissible Bird Flu Strains
Pandemic Fears Wikimedia Commons/cc licensedFollowing a moratorium on "dangerous" flu research, new studies reshuffle the molecular mechanisms that allow bird flu to infect humans. The most recent bird flu strain claimed another victim today, bringing the number of dead to 27, all in China. So far 127 people have fallen ill, and world health authorities say the new H7N9 flu is a global threat that should be taken seriously. The strain, which has been transmitted from chickens to humans, is so far unable to move from person to person. But scientists are figuring out how other strains could. The journal Science is publishing two papers today that describe the mechanisms avian flu viruses could use to alter their structure and spread among mammals, including humans. One of the papers studied guinea pigs, which are not necessarily the best way to study the human response to flu-but studies on ferrets, which...