National Academy of Sciences Publishes Paper on Vulnerability of Milk Supply After Considering Objections from HHS, Others

Two Stanford scientists have published a paper discussing the vulnerability of the nation’s milk supply even though officials at the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Homeland Security and others raised concerns about whether their work offered too many suggestions to terrorists about how to attack the health and safety of U. S. citizens and residents. The scientists met with officials, discussed their concerns, but went ahead with the publication, saying that the background information is already generally available.

Download the NAS paper here. Also available is an editorial by NAS President Bruce Alberts explaining the timeline of the original embargo, the guidelines followed in considering whether to proceed with publication, and emphasizing the importance of balancing heightened national security against continued scientific openess and debate.