"The National Institutes of Health this week ordered a sweeping review of government policies for experiments involving potentially dangerous viruses and other pathogens, a move the agency said will balance the benefits and risks of such research but is unrelated to the debate over the coronavirus pandemic’s origin.

The review will be conducted by the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity, and NIH hopes to have recommendations by the end of the year. In essence, this is a plea for help in deciding where to draw the line on research, identifying the experiments that require special safety measures or are too dangerous to be initiated.

“This is an appropriate time for us to undertake and ensure that our policies are allowing potential benefits of research while managing potential risks,” Lyric Jorgenson, acting associate director for science policy at NIH, said Tuesday. “This is around definitions of what should be in and what should be out.”"

Joel Achenbach reports for the Washington Post March 1, 2022. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Bird Flu Detected In Western Iowa Backyard Flock" (AP) [3]

"New Coronavirus Lineage Discovered in Ontario Deer" (New York Times) [4]