There are some odd goings on in the Chinese medical community. A group of scientists submitted a research letter to the New England Journal of Medicine arguing that a 2003 case of SARS was actually bird flu. On Wednesday, after the Journal had already decided to publish the letter, at least one of the scientists sought to retract it for reasons that are unclear. The World Health Organization is following the case closely and wants a meeting with the Chinese authorities. Readers of FP will recall that in our March/April issue, Karl Taro Greenfeld chronicled the experience of a Chinese doctor who braved official censure to tell the world about SARS in China. It's too early to know for sure, but we may have more medical whistleblowers at work.