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Published online 20 March 2008 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2008.682

News

Researchers protest destruction of bacteria collection

Petitioners call for investigation after hospital destroys nearly 10,000 samples.

Heidi Ledford

A group of nearly 250 researchers is requesting an investigation into the destruction of thousands of samples from an infectious disease lab at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The collection — which contained nearly 10,000 specimens — was the product of more than 20 years of work and included many different strains of infectious bacteria, some of them very rare.

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  • the damage is done anyway,i think what really matters is that people should draw a lesson from it and weigh the pros and cons before make dicisions in the future```

    • 24 Mar, 2008
    • Posted by: Li Chen

  • Personal disagreement must not culminate in destruction of scientific research.

    • 26 Mar, 2008
    • Posted by: Ananda Mookerjee