We're hoping that this sort of local immune response is going to be more effective at preventing infection with the flu virus than the kind of immune response you get with a flu shot.

The urgency around this issue kind of dissipated. I think it's an example of how unpredictable things are. We got distracted.

That is a great, great idea.

I don't know that we have any certainty about what's going to happen in the future.

It's a difficult drug to use properly. People who hoard the drug might use it improperly or store it improperly, so it won't work. Hoarding is a panic thing.

There is not a smoking gun. What we're seeing is that all the individual genes contribute, but there is no single gene in there that is sufficient to make that virus a killer.

The complete sequence of the 1918 virus, demonstrating its avian origin, and focusing on those mutations that differentiate avian from human strains will be immensely helpful as we try to understand the factors that govern the epidemic behavior of the current crop of avian H5 viruses.

It's called a neutralization test, and it generally reflects the presence of antibodies that can attach to the bird-flu virus and immobilize it.