Boston University Gears Up To Research Ebola (Video)
Original article from: WGBH News posted on January 4, 2018. by Cristina Quinn
After years of neighborhood battles, Boston University has won approval to conduct biosafety level 4 research. In layman’s terms, that means they can now study the world’s deadliest pathogens at the university’s National Emerging Infectious Disease Lab on the medical school’s South End campus.
Rows of blue and white protective lab suits hang in the changing room of a simulation of Boston University’s biosafety level 4 lab, also known as BSL-4. The real lab is in an inner sanctum of the building with 12-inch thick walls and 14-inch heavily fortified concrete flooring designed to withstand an earthquake.
Coiled air hoses hang from the ceiling. Microbiologist Elke Muhlberger grabs one to demonstrate how it works. Pointing to a socket on the waist of the suit, she takes the end of the hose and snaps it in. Air immediately starts hissing into the suit.