Deadly Bugs in Terrorist Hands?

The barriers of synthetic biology are falling. Scientists have already created polio from 'scratch'. Genetic sequences have turned up on the internet as well. As with all advances, the potential for misuse is there.



Making the worlds most deadly viruses from chemicals is scary. Terrorists doing so is potentially devastasting. Diseases could be genetically engineered, like Blackpox, developed by the Soviet's during the Cold War. Improving transmission as well as lethality.

Does anyone know why all those people at the Iragi research institute were kidnapped? What were the scientist researching anyway? What could they have gotten their hands on?

There already is a pandemic of chronic disease, caused by contamination of our food and water.

There WILL be a flu pandemic. Soon.

The flu pandemic may already be in Stage 5 or 6.

It has NOTHING to do with terrorists.

It has EVERYTHING to do with irresponsible industrial and agricultural practises, greed - and purposeful policies of benign neglect designed to "let nature take her course."

We are well into the Plague Time - and terrorists did NOT have to do a thing, except let international corporate trade continue unhindered by rational protections.




We have learned very little that is new about the disease, but much that is old about ourselves.


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posted by soficrow
It has EVERYTHING to do with irresponsible industrial and agricultural practises, greed - and purposeful policies of benign neglect designed to "let nature take her course."

Sorry, but I'm not even sure what that means.


What I do know, is that Terrorist's want you and I DEAD, and they're looking for a means to that end! Carrying on about abstract global health issues just doesn't cut it for me. Serious security considerations need to be discussed immediately by the academic and government community, before this technology gets into the wrong hands!

Won't these superbugs just kill indiscriminately, or are terrorists somehow immune?

This is not a one line post.

An ethnic bioweapon aims to harm only or primarily persons of specific ethnicities or genotypes. The viability of ethnic bioweapons is disputed, the biggest obstacles being the diversity of the human genotype and the supposed non-existence of human races.[1]

en.wikipedia.org...


While this is potentially viable, we mustn't forget Martyrdom. It doesn't factor into our thinking that much, so we tend to think logically about survival instinct. It means nothing to their religious ideology!

I may be naive, but I would presume that ethno-specific bioweapons could only be engineered by the most affluent of scientific communities, i.e. the West, so it wouldn't seem logical that 'the West' would create organisms that would solely target their own host populations.

As for the 'martyrdom' issue, wouldn't these diseases also take out family, friends etc. of the 'suicide-bugger'. Is the idea of wiping out one's kinsmen also a central tenet of Islam, as so much is claimed to be?

As far as being immune, most of the fundementalist terrorists of whatever ilk, simply don't care whether or not they live. It's called martyrdom.

Global health issues are important, were a terrorist organization to lay their hands on a bug, however, global health issues become somewhat more complicated, don't you think? Especially if the only nations capable of even remotely coping with a massive outbreak, were the one's attacked. Potentially, I would think hundreds of millions, if not billions would be at grave risk.

Originally posted by HimWhoHathAnEar

posted by soficrow
It has EVERYTHING to do with irresponsible industrial and agricultural practises, greed - and purposeful policies of benign neglect designed to "let nature take her course."

Sorry, but I'm not even sure what that means.

A quick primer: Back to the Dark Ages

What I do know, is that Terrorist's want you and I DEAD, and they're looking for a means to that end!

And they want what we already have!

OH NO!

Carrying on about abstract global health issues just doesn't cut it for me.

Abstract? Go eat some fresh California lettuce and spinach. Wash it down with some carrot juice while you're at it.

Infectious Disease News

Research has documented that E. coli survives on dry seeds for at least 60 days ... a day have E. coli throughout the leaves, stems and roots of the lettuce ...

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 Present in Radish Sprouts

Serious security considerations need to be discussed immediately by the academic and government community, before this technology gets into the wrong hands!

No kidding.

And we're NOT talking about the angry poor who live in dirt huts, and subsist on arsenic-contaminated water and root vegatables.


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posted by KhieuSamphan
As for the 'martyrdom' issue, wouldn't these diseases also take out family, friends etc. of the 'suicide-bugger'. Is the idea of wiping out one's kinsmen also a central tenet of Islam, as so much is claimed to be?

Don't forget, 'everyone' gets 72 virgins. So in their mind's, they're actually doing them a favor.


Soficrow,

I just don't see the food supply as a huge problem at the moment, unless terrorists spike it with something. Or are these unsanitary conditions the reason they want to be Martyr's?

Deadly Bugs?

I beg forgiveness for the grossly off-topic post, but the first thing I thought when I saw the title of this thread was...

And yes, we must not let them fall into the wrong hands!






(Actually, drifting briefly on-topic, the whole synthetic biology angle of this is fascinating in itself. The power to create life is the power to create death.)

[edit on 11/15/2006 by Majic]

OH NO! Not the Killer Bee's, I thought that threat had passed!


But seriously, I'm surprised it took so long, with a thread title like that, I mean. A little comic relief is always a good contribution IMO. Especially with a topic of this gravity. Hate to see us wind up like Stephen King's, 'The Stand'.

My point here is that chemical and agricultural industries, at least, have changed the molecular composition of our planet. The molecular composition being the basis of life.

As a result, microbes are mutating, adapting and evolving to live here. A feat more complex life forms have yet to manage.

Meantime, these newly mutated microbes are creating new diseases that infect every lifeform on the planet - including not just humans, but our food supply too.

...Forget about the dangers of bioterrorism. Really. They can't touch what nature has done to respond to our pollution.

Not even the most sophisticated NASA laboratory can even come close to living cells as bioweapons manufacturing plants.

Might as well just hang on and enjoy the ride. It's totally out of our hands at this point.

Now, it's an evolutionary thing.


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