Yunqing Jian and Zunyong Liu allegedly brought into the US a fungus which damages a variety of crops and is toxic to humans and animals.

Two Chinese nationals have been accused of smuggling a fungus into the US that officials describe as a “dangerous biological pathogen”.

Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34, have been charged with conspiracy, smuggling goods, false statements, and visa fraud, the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan announced on Tuesday.

The complaint alleges Mr Liu tried to smuggle the fungus through Detroit airport so he could study it at a University of Michigan laboratory where his girlfriend, Ms Jian, worked.

The fungus called Fusarium graminearum can cause a disease in wheat, barley, maize and rice that can wipe out crops and lead to vomiting and liver damage if it gets into food.

  • MagicShel@lemmy.zipEnglish
    212·
    9 days ago

    This could be anything from someone wanting to study it to develop better defenses to it, to weaponizing it, so I don’t know how to feel about the ultimate disposition of their case, but aren’t there official channels to go through to get samples of stuff like this? Better to use those channels than to smuggle things with dubious safety protocols even if the intentions were noble.

    • dhork@lemmy.worldEnglish
      17·
      9 days ago

      In today’s environment, a Chinese national asking for special permission to do science is equivalent to putting a big sticky note on his own back saying “deport me”. He shouldn’t have smuggled it, but asking permission wouldn’t have worked at all.

      Sadly, his best bet would have been to take his research somewhere else. (Edited to add: oh wait, it was the girlfriend’s research? Now they’re both getting deported)

    • MountingSuspicion@reddthat.com
      10·
      9 days ago

      I don’t know much about this case, but I do know about science and labs and unless they had a full home lab, this is absolutely for nefarious purposes or these people are the dumbest scientists ever. You absolutely do not carry out experiments on biological or environmental hazards without the proper precautions and if they were the only people aware of what they were bringing back and the whole lab was not in on it or at least informed, it wouldn’t have mattered because it would have become an issue regardless.

      Just a preemptive note that I’m not anti china and what the us is doing to all immigrants and foreign nationals is disgusting.