REPEAL SOUGHT FOR SMALLPOX RESEARCH BAN.

The article focuses on the recommendation of the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) to rescind an amendment that was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 2004. The said amendment imposed a ban on the synthesis of Variola, a smallpox virus. The aim of NSABB is to help the government devise precautionary measures against the unlawful application of life sciences research. NSABB also reasoned that the imposition of penalty on scientists who reproduce the virus may hinder research.