Comments on: Data Archiving – Bird Flu

By: Dave Dardinger

Dave Dardinger — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 05:44:07 +0000

How about clipped wings as a cure for Bird Flew?

By: john lichtenstein

john lichtenstein — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 04:08:55 +0000

Spiced ham is not a cure for flu.

By: Tim Blake

Tim Blake — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 12:44:54 +0000

Is there any cure for Bird flu?

By: Andrewgates

Andrewgates — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 07:55:29 +0000

If i m not wrong Jean, even David is talking of figures here…..Nways….

Whatever may be the figures, hardly matters.
……the threat is basically to poultry farmers and who coud’nt afford a hygeinic living. The world is under a “DANGER” undoubtedly.

By: David Stockwell

David Stockwell — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 02:00:00 +0000

Re: 10. Yes I agree. I doubt the ability of H5N1 to be weaponized. I doubt it has a stable phase like anthrax. Was someone using that as a justification for withholding the sequence data? I also think there are grounds for limited or temporary rights to public-funded data. The issue of rights to data is fairly nuanced and I think that was the point that John Hunter has been trying to make. There is no justification for sitting on tree-ring data for a generation though.

By: BradH

BradH — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 00:56:37 +0000

I think there is legitimate reasons for not publicising certain information which may be “weaponised”, even if the likelihood rises to no more than a “reasonable possibility”. Whether or not bird flu sequences could rise to such a standard is to my mind debateable, but then I am no expert in such matters.

In any event, such “public interest” arguments need to be well supported, because the matter can turn on the head of a pin – indeed, if it cannot reasonably be used by the bad guys, it is distinctly against the public interest to withhold such information, because it may delay development of treatments.

By: John A

John A — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 15:14:53 +0000

I’ll try to monitor the situation from the incredibly buggy and insecure Internet Explorer, which were it not artificially spot-welded to the current monopoly operating system, would have been junked long ago in favor of much better written software.

By: David Stockwell

David Stockwell — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 14:49:15 +0000

Re:7 From Majikthise who was writing about this in October last year:

… the CDC is assuming that they will get more innovation out of vaccine manufacturers by creating a taxpayer-funded monopoly on flu data. (Bush-bashing deleted)

By: Steve Sadlov

Steve Sadlov — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 14:42:26 +0000

Are there concerns that if the sequences were posted, less-than-nice folks would use them for illegal things in violation of certain treaties? Or is it more just ego stuff?

By: TCO

TCO — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 14:26:26 +0000

Messed up sidebar is still not owworking. This is really unsat for a computer consultant to product a product like this that is worse than what most hobbyists can put together and the endless blathering and amazement that people are actually looking at this site on the web (not RSS) and are using that little known program Internet Explorer from that niche company Mcirosoft just amazes me.