Lawyers for one of the Chinese nationals accused of smuggling a dangerous biological pathogen into the United States are already in talks to try to resolve the case, according to a court document filed on June 17.
Yunqing Jian, 33, was a researcher at the University of Michigan when she was arrested on June 2 in relation to allegations that she smuggled into America a fungus called Fusarium graminearum, which scientific literature classifies as a potential agroterrorism weapon.
Fusarium graminearum causes “head blight,” a disease of wheat, barley, maize, and rice, according to the Department of Justice.
The American Phytopathological Society estimates the fungal disease has cost U.S. wheat and barley farmers more than $3 billion since 1990….