The BU Biolab Will Work With the Most Dangerous Microbes on Earth, Finally
Original article from Boston Magazine by December 7th, 2017
Sure, there’s plenty of good reason to be cautious about having a bevy of deadly pathogens in your backyard. And when it comes to Boston University’s plans to study the world’s most dangerous bugs in the South End—microbes like Ebola and the Marburg virus—Boston has been abundantly cautious. It’s been more than a decade now since the idea was first proposed, but now it looks like the necessary, if scary, work of the BU Biolab is finally cleared to begin.
The Boston Public Health Commission this week decided after 12 years of analysis to let researchers begin tinkering with the ultra-dangerous microbes at a research facility at Boston Medical Center, which has foot-thick walls, a state-of-the-art filtration system, is earthquake-proof, and has a safety protocol that is, well, intense. They plan to begin in 2018 looking for cures to incurable diseases, which if successful could help stop or prevent the next outbreak.
It’s a big deal.