dual use and biosecurity the case of the avian flu h5n1双重使用和生物安全的禽流感h5n1病毒.pdfVIP

Open Journal of Applied Sciences, 2012, 2, 123-127 doi:10.4236/ojapps.2012.23017 Published Online September 2012 (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/ojapps) * Dual Use and Biosecurity: The Case of the Avian Flu H5N1 Pieter J. D. Drenth1,2 1Department of Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 2Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Email: pjdd@xs4all.nl Received June 25, 2012; revised July 24, 2012; accepted August 1, 2012 ABSTRACT The classical dual use problem—the potential for harmful as well as beneficial application of scientific findings—has become more immediate in biotechnology than in most other fields of science. Terrorist misuse of the information on the development of pathogenic organisms can lead to catastrophic outcomes. Therefore, particular in biosciences re- searchers are faced with the dilemma to find a proper balance between the right to know and the dangers of knowing. In this paper this dilemma is illustrated by the research on the influenza A virus subtype H5N1, commonly known as “bird flu”. The pros and cons of the full publication on the development of a dangerous airborne type are discussed. Keywords: Dual Use; Biosecurity; Biosafety; Bird Flu 1. Introduction dictators, governments, political authorities, economic spon- sors or popular action movements (environment, feminism, The dual use problem—the potential for harmful as well