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The Dutch team’s aim was to create a more powerful and easily transmitted version of the avian flu, a goal that on the face of it seems disquieting and unnecessary: H5N1 as it occurs naturally already is highly potent when it passes from birds to humans. According to a FAQ on Nature’s Avian Flu website, of 169 people who contracted the disease in the outbreak that roiled Asia from January 2004 to March 2007, 168 died. Estimates of average mortality vary, but it’s generally thought that avian flu proves fatal to 50-60% of those who catch it. By contrast, in modern times...