The history of the research with the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 and the publication of the results of that research is reminiscent of the Buddhist “Parable of the Blind Men and the Elephant.” In the parable, the Buddha relates a story of a raja who, when confronted with disputatious scholars, gathered blind men and presented each man with a part of an elephant, telling him “here is an elephant.” The raja then asked each man to describe the animal. As each man explained “what sort of thing is an elephant,” the men began arguing about whether the likeness was to a pot or a basket or a pillar, etcetera, eventually coming to blows over the question and prompting the Buddha to observe: “for, quarreling, each to his view they cling. Such folk see only one side of a thing”1. Fortunately, the H5N1 debates have not led to blows but instead have yielded important provocative discussions about the importance of the research and the issues and implications of communicating the results of the research (1). Unfortunately, there still is no consensus regarding the manner of the oversight of life-sciences dual-use research of concern (DURC).
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