One year after public uproar forced them to pause, researchers who study H5N1 avian influenza by designing new, extra-virulent strains are set to resume their work, Wired Science reports.

In a letter published Jan. 23 in the journals Nature and Science, 40 virologists, including leaders of the most high-profile experiments, declared that their voluntary moratorium is now over.

Other experts say concerns about the experiments — overhyped benefits, a lack of independent review, dangers of accidental release — have not been addressed, raising the chances that the first pandemic H5N1 strain will come from a laboratory.