The WHO has granted the smallpox virus another last-minute reprieve. Fears
over bioterrorism have already prompted the US to resist plans to destroy
remaining official stocks (This Week, 1 May, p 12). Last week, WHO member states
voted to appoint a new scientific panel to decide what research is still needed
to develop vaccines and antiviral drugs. The panel has until 2002 to set
another, final date for destruction. The stocks were due to have been destroyed
in 1993, and again in 1995, but each time scientists pleaded that they needed to
continue studying them.
More from ¿ìè¶ÌÊÓƵ
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Popular articles
Trending ¿ìè¶ÌÊÓƵ articles
1
The best new science-fiction books of June 2026
2
Pancreatic cancer halted by virus injection in three patients
3
Does gravity create reality? A shocking path to a theory of everything
4
Glaciers in the 'roof of the world' have suddenly started melting
5
Photons behave very strangely if you try to cut them
6
PCOS has been officially renamed PMOS, and it’s a momentous move
7
Where did the laws of physics come from? I think I've found the answer
8
'The book is in the future, but everything is seeded from our present'
9
How a radical new view of life could reveal its origin – and aliens
10
Mathematical AI helps researchers crack 50-year-old problem
