The suicide of a biodefence researcher who was being investigated in connection with the 2001 anthrax attacks has raised questions about the US governments regulation of research on dangerous pathogens - even as Congress considers a bill to improve oversight. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had been working to link Bruce Ivins, a micro-biologist at the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) in Frederick, Maryland, to five people who died after anthrax spores were sent through the mail soon after the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001. The case has still not been solved, some say because of a long-running focus on a single, different suspect (see 'How the anthrax investigation unfolded').
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