Scientists genetically disarm Ebola virus for 1st time+
TOKYO, Jan. 22 (AP) - (Kyodo)—A team of researchers including University of Tokyo scientists have succeeded in genetically disarming the Ebola virus for the first time ever, they said in the Tuesday issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.
The findings mean researchers effectively confined the virus to a set of specialized cells, making it safe to study under conditions far less stringent than those currently imposed, a move scientists believe will help advance studies on anti-Ebola drugs and could pave the way for vaccine production.
"We wanted to make a biologically contained Ebola virus," Yoshihiro Kawaoka, a University of Tokyo professor, was quoted as saying in the weekly journal. "This is a great system...This system can be used for drug screening and for vaccine production."
The Ebola virus -- an emerging public health concern in Africa and a potential biological weapon -- causes hemorrhagic fever in humans and nonhuman primates, resulting in mortality rates of up to 90 percent. It ranks among the most feared exotic pathogens.
Currently, research on the virus is confined to the very highest level of biosafety. Because such laboratories are rare, small and very expensive, basic research that forms the basis for any potential drugs or vaccines to thwart the virus has been limited to about half a dozen labs worldwide.
"The system devised by Kawaoka and his colleagues could provide a way to greatly expand studies of the pathogen and speed the development of countermeasures," the journal said.
Hideki Ebihara and Takeshi Noga, research associates at the university, are also members of the research team.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8UAL3500&show_article=1
TOKYO, Jan. 22 (AP) - (Kyodo)—A team of researchers including University of Tokyo scientists have succeeded in genetically disarming the Ebola virus for the first time ever, they said in the Tuesday issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.
The findings mean researchers effectively confined the virus to a set of specialized cells, making it safe to study under conditions far less stringent than those currently imposed, a move scientists believe will help advance studies on anti-Ebola drugs and could pave the way for vaccine production.
"We wanted to make a biologically contained Ebola virus," Yoshihiro Kawaoka, a University of Tokyo professor, was quoted as saying in the weekly journal. "This is a great system...This system can be used for drug screening and for vaccine production."
The Ebola virus -- an emerging public health concern in Africa and a potential biological weapon -- causes hemorrhagic fever in humans and nonhuman primates, resulting in mortality rates of up to 90 percent. It ranks among the most feared exotic pathogens.
Currently, research on the virus is confined to the very highest level of biosafety. Because such laboratories are rare, small and very expensive, basic research that forms the basis for any potential drugs or vaccines to thwart the virus has been limited to about half a dozen labs worldwide.
"The system devised by Kawaoka and his colleagues could provide a way to greatly expand studies of the pathogen and speed the development of countermeasures," the journal said.
Hideki Ebihara and Takeshi Noga, research associates at the university, are also members of the research team.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8UAL3500&show_article=1
it would be over for everyone. 
Let's pray that no one is that evil in science.