CHANGE: After biosafety lapses, US halts funding for work modifying virus targets. “Prompted by several recent biosafety lapses (including the discovery of old smallpox samples at the National Institutes of Health), the government will temporarily stop funding for these projects. During the pause, the government will organize a “deliberative process” that will consider the value of the research and the appropriate safety precautions that will need to be followed if it’s done. The review will be run by a combination of the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity and the National Academies of Science. The funding pause will apply to any projects that can allow viruses like the flu, MERS, and SARS to either add mammals to the list of species they can infect, or to increase their virulence following infection.”