Here's what it takes to make a deadly virus transmissible
through the air: as few as five genetic mutations, according to
a new study. This research, published in the journal Science, is
the second of two controversial studies to finally be released
that examines how the H5N1 bird flu virus can be genetically
altered and transmitted in mammals. Publication of both studies
had been delayed many months due to fears that the research
could be misused and become a bio-security threat. Although
these particular engineered forms of H5N1 have not been found in
nature, the virus has potential to mutate enough such that it
could become airborne. H5N1 influenza can be deadly to people,
but in its natural forms it does not easily transfer between
people through respiratory droplets, as far as scientists know.
The World Health Organization has recorded 355 humans deaths
from it out of 602 cases, although some research has questioned
this high mortality rate. The journals Science and Nature had
agreed to postpone the publ