Synthetic horsepox viruses and the continuing debate about dual use research.

The article presents author's comments on the synthetic horsepox viruses with thedebate on dual use research. It focuses on the dual use research of concern (DURC), as the method that can be used to assemble horsepox virus can be used to develop variola which is the virus that causes smallpox. It focuses on recovering vaccinia virus (VACV) from a bacmid.