SCI/TECH: Here Come the Superbugs

Janes Defense Weekly has just released an article demonstrating the potential threat of GM bio-weapons. It demonstrates the catastrophic consequences of taking an already nasty bug like smallpox and beefing it up. In addition it contends that similar superbug development has been conducted in earnest in previous decades.



I am confident that many nations who conduct bio-weapons research have these bugs ready to release. The only question is when.

If you are concerned about GM foods and their ability to quickly propogate their altered structure into the eco-system, then this'll keep you up at night.

[edit on 9-14-2004 by Valhall]

This area frightens the hell out of me. I was always under the suspicion that SARS was a bio-weapon or a test platform for a dispersal pattern. You know that the US and Russia have continued their research into these weapons despite signing a treaty banning their development.


SCARY

I just don't see biological weapons as a viable route, because they are pretty much impossible to control once released. How would a nation who used them feel if suddenly infected persons brought the disease into their homeland and it came around to bite them in the arse? Just seems kind of a pointless system unless you just want worldwide chaos and death.

Originally posted by DEEZNUTZ
This area frightens the hell out of me. I was always under the suspicion that SARS was a bio-weapon or a test platform for a dispersal pattern. You know that the US and Russia have continued their research into these weapons despite signing a treaty banning their development.


SCARY

Do you have any evidence to back this up? I know the Russians carried on with it, but I've never heard that the US did.

Originally posted by shbaz

Originally posted by DEEZNUTZ
This area frightens the hell out of me. I was always under the suspicion that SARS was a bio-weapon or a test platform for a dispersal pattern. You know that the US and Russia have continued their research into these weapons despite signing a treaty banning their development.


SCARY

Do you have any evidence to back this up? I know the Russians carried on with it, but I've never heard that the US did.

I have no proof of course, because I'm not a top level government official or spy. I'm sure it is done under many layers of deniability(medical research, genetic research, etc, etc).

Originally posted by alternateheaven
I just don't see biological weapons as a viable route, because they are pretty much impossible to control once released. How would a nation who used them feel if suddenly infected persons brought the disease into their homeland and it came around to bite them in the arse? Just seems kind of a pointless system unless you just want worldwide chaos and death.

Yes, nations that produce them probably realize this but the very fact that they create them can be alarming for one main reason; at some point these superbugs could (and most likely will) get into the hands of a rogue or terrorist group. I would prefer they didn't create them at all but that's a pipe dream.

Frankly I think it highly unlikely the US continues research on offensive biological weapons. Since the Nixon administration, we have been disallowed to conduct such research, and defensive weapons, though much more difficult to design, are more useful in the long run. (Though it seems likely we tried bioweapons in the Korean war)
That said, the Russians are building secret facilities under the Ural mountains to this very day and we know they have conducted some scary tests in the past.
And a little while ago, I noticed a story on a little noticed byproduct of poor agricultural practices in the former USSR. Water flowing to the Aral sea has been diverted for cotton growing since Stalin's time, and now the sea is drying up. Trouble is that the Soviets used an island out in the middle for biological weapons testing, and now that island is almost connected to the mainland. Now the US has agreed to "clean up" the area. News Article
I imagine, though without a great deal of proof, that we are actually more interested in finding out what exactly the Soviets had come up with.

[edit on 14-9-2004 by changhe]

I read a book by Michael Crichton I believe while back that was about this type of technology, it was a fiction but it was about using nanotechnoloy to help with surgeries. The book was prey.

The technology turn against the people that make it.

No good.


Has anyone ever read or saw The Stand? Bad news.

Originally posted by DEEZNUTZ

Do you have any evidence to back this up? I know the Russians carried on with it, but I've never heard that the US did.

I have a little evidence. I live right by one of the most important biological research/weapons facilities in the country! Right here around the Woodbridge area of Virginia. You wouldn't know it though. The building is very indiscrete and has no name on the front of it - you would never believe the type of stuff it contains. It is one of the few places in the US that actually has samples of smallpox...

Unfortunately I can not say where I got the information from, but I am definitely telling the truth.

The US isn't going to stop research of something because of "politics" and the "outcry" of people. If there is money to be made, the greedy are going to find ways to get it.

Originally posted by EmbryonicEssence
I have a little evidence. I live right by one of the most important biological research/weapons facilities in the country! Right here around the Woodbridge area of Virginia. You wouldn't know it though. The building is very indiscrete and has no name on the front of it - you would never believe the type of stuff it contains. It is one of the few places in the US that actually has samples of smallpox...

Unfortunately I can not say where I got the information from, but I am definitely telling the truth.

The US isn't going to stop research of something because of "politics" and the "outcry" of people. If there is money to be made, the greedy are going to find ways to get it.

I was under the impression that only one US installation had the smallpox virus...I think it was USAMRiD.

But there is some important research being done right now with respect to Smallpox all around the country. I think its been two years now but one of the local universities were asking for people between the ages of 30 and 40, in good health - who had received their smallpox vaccination (your scar had to be distinct) to assist with research. They were going to reactivate your antibodies through inoculation and then take blood plasma for a period of months.

My brother and I inquired about the program but decided against it on the advice of my kid's pediatrician. He and the director of the program had differing opinions on the risks to my two young kids. The program director called me once a month for about a year before giving up.

The only reason I mention this is maybe that's what the facility close to you is doing as well.

[edit on 9/14/04 by Bleys]

I suggest everyone read this book: www.amazon.com...=1095224565/sr=ka-1/ref=pd_ka_1/102-1006829-5748932

The once chief bioweapon scientist for Russia and since defected to the US, teaching I believe at Johns Hopkins. The US definitely is in the game and Russia is still going strong with it. Anyone who doubts will be in for a very big surprise.

I have to agree with the idea that bio weapons have little use. Even if they were used, I imagine that the larger and wealthier nations as well as the bug's creator already have a cure.

Also, what took place in The Stand most likely could never happen. These diseases tend to have the most devistating effects in areas of dense population. With so many people living so close together, it's far too easy to infect hundreds if not thousands at a time. People like me, who live in smaller and less populated communities, will probably be at signifigantly less risk. Unless many, many cities were infected simultaneously then most people would have proper warning and would be able to take the necessary precautions to avoid infection... even if that just meant staying at home. They may be able to kill A LOT of people, but I serious doubt that even the extremists could bring about any type of armageddon-like scenerio.

As for SARS... last I read it had a fatality rate similar to the more severe (modern) strains of influenza. Also, most of the SARS related fatalities were over 50 years of age. According to the World Health Organization, SARS fatality rates were 1% for those 24 years old and younger, 6% for those 25-44, and 15% for those 45-64 with the fatality rate increasing with age.
english.people.com.cn...
The WHO also lists a number of other factors that made those who were seriously affected by the bug more vulnerable. Factors such as pre-existing tendancy towards respiratory infection as well as how quickly treatment was administered if it was administered at all.

I guess my point is... if SARS was the creation of ANY government then the engineers and biologists that designed it should be fired for incompetence lol.

I only referred to SARS as a test bug for dispersal patterns. It's not deadly enough to cause massive panic but serious enough that you could sit back and watch TV to see how far it made it. If you were contemplating releasing something more deadly you'd want to make sure it would spread correctly. SO why not engineer a bug with similar survivability characteristics (UV tolerance, temperature tolerances, airborne transmition rate, etc, etc) and test to see how far it could make it.