Detroit (AP) – Lawyer for accused Chinese scientist Conspiring to nurse toxic fungi The University of Michigan is already in talks to try to settle the lawsuit, according to court documents filed Tuesday.
“The parties are currently engaged in judicial negotiations and are requesting this additional time so that they can continue to engage in judicial negotiations,” the prosecutor and defense attorney said in a joint filing.
Yunkan Jiang, 33, was a researcher at the University of Michigan when he was arrested June 3rd. She attempted to work with a pathogen known as Fusarium graminearum, another Chinese scientist, that can attack wheat, barley, corn and rice.
Zunyong Liu, 34, was kicked out at Detroit airport in July 2024 and sent back to China after red plant material was found in his backpack, the FBI said.
After initially denying, Liu admitted to carrying various strains of Fusarium graminearum, investigators said.
The university did not have federal permission to handle the materials.
Jian’s Boston-based lawyer declined to comment. She is in custody without being held.
Federal authorities say the incident raises national security concerns but do not claim that scientists have plans to release the fungus. It’s Fusarium graminearum It is already popular in the US, And scientists have been studying it for decades.
Jian is a postdoctoral scholar at Z Jiang University in Hangzhou, China, and was granted a visa to conduct research at the University of Texas. She has been working in Michigan since the summer of 2023.
Apart from that, another scientist heading to the University of Michigan Arrested on June 8th At Detroit Metropolitan Airport after arriving on a flight from China. She is being charged with shipping biological material to the United States without permission. The material is related to worms.
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