being overburdened with unnecessary regulation. both are essential for our country to be safe, productive and to remain a global leader. the national science advisory board for biosecurity is comprised of well respected scientists, lawyers, infectious disease experts, scientific editors and public health experts. we have an eight-year track record of protecting academic freedom while seeking policy recommendations that will minimize the misuse of biological sciences research. with that in mind, recognize the significance for the board s unanimously recommended against the publication two of scientific papers in november of 2011 due to their potential to be misused. the u.s. government asked the board to review two nih-funded studies reporting mutations that allowed a highly dangerous bird flu virus to transmit from one ferret to another. by a split vote, the board instead recommends to the government that key elements of the studies not be published and only redacted papers w
internal eyes these concerns while developing and conducting research. in this regard, the h5n1 papers have serveds a necessary wake-up call for the life sciences community. thank you for giving us the opportunity to testify today, and we look forward to your questions. thanks, dr. gerstein. just while we have you, and while it s on my mind. clarify for the record and for me what the role of the department of homeland security is with regard to dual-use research happening outside of dhs grantees. well, senator, we sit as part of the inner agency body that deliberates. and so we have a strong voice. in fact, as i m sure we ll talk more about later, the 29 march policy actually reflects much of the work that we have been doing previously in fulfilling our biological weapons convention requirements. we made use of the nsabb seven experiments of concern. we ve always looked at the select agent program to make sure that we are in accordance with the requirements and reporting
reviews all durc with a particular eye towards ensuring compliance with chemical weapons convention and biological weapons convention, bwc. dhs contracts for life science research that involves use of select agents and toxins or that requires special biosafety provisions. in all cases, we ensure that contracts contain clauses to ensure conformity with applicable laws, regulations and internal policies. in addition, research contracts for life sciences work typically provide for dhs to object to publication or disclosure. further, depending on the type of proposed publication or disclosure, the information to be released must go through an internal review process. in the unlikely event that sensitive or classified material is produced from research projects funded through grants to acdamia, dhs requires grant recipients to create information protection plans which detail how the information would be identified and secured. now i ve been discussing the internal management of du
frontline is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. and by the corporation for public broadcasting. major funding is provided by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. and by reva and david logan. committed to investigative journalism as the guardian of the public interest. additional funding is provided by the park foundation. dedicated to heightening public awareness of critical issues. and by the frontline journalism fund, supporting investigative reporting and enterprise journalism. one florida man is in the hospital with anthrax. .is hospitalized with inhalation anthrax. narrator: in october of 2001, just weeks after 9/11, there was a chilling new wave of attacks. a 63-year-old man diagnosed with anthrax has died. anthrax reported at a florida hospital. the disturbing news from boca raton, florida. another anthrax case, this one in new
frontline is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. and by the corporation for public broadcasting. major funding is provided by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. and by reva and david logan. committed to investigative journalism as the guardian of the public interest. additional funding is provided by the park foundation. dedicated to heightening public awareness of critical issues. and by the frontline journalism fund, supporting investigative reporting and enterprise journalism. one florida man is in the hospital with anthrax. .is hospitalized with inhalation anthrax. narrator: in october of 2001, just weeks after 9/11, there was a chilling new wave of attacks. a 63-year-old man diagnosed with anthrax has died. anthrax reported at a florida hospital. the disturbing news from boca raton, florida. another anthrax case, this one in new