[Op-Ed] Don’t Censor Influenza Research; New York Times, 2/1/12

[Op-Ed] Howard Markel, New York Times; Don’t Censor Influenza Research:

"The censorship of influenza research will do little to prevent its misuse by evildoers — and it may well hinder our ability to stop influenza outbreaks, whether natural or otherwise, when they do occur.

In this case, censorship is too little, too late. The data generated by one of the research teams was already presented at a conference in Malta in September, where copies of the paper were distributed. But even if the data weren’t already available, the key details could likely be inferred from other information that is already available."