U.S. Lags in Permitting Bird Flu Research

Scientists elsewhere get back to work while the government here continues its ban

Drama surrounding research on the deadly H5N1 avian flu continues, as 40 scientists urge work on the virus to continue in countries that have established guidelines on the safety and aims of the research.  The United States is not among them.

This new correspondence, a letter from researchers published Wednesday in the journals Science and Nature, comes after a "voluntary pause" in the research, which scientists announced in January 2012.