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Science & Technology
Custom-Built Pathogens Raise Bioterror Fears
2006-07-31
Superb but very long article from WaPo on the potential use of genetic engineering to create virulent organisms to attack society. Recommended reading.
Eckard Wimmer knows of a shortcut terrorists could someday use to get their hands on the lethal viruses that cause Ebola and smallpox. He knows it exceptionally well, because he discovered it himself. In 2002, the German-born molecular geneticist startled the scientific world by creating the first live, fully artificial virus in the lab. It was a variation of the bug that causes polio, yet different from any virus known to nature. And Wimmer built it from scratch.

The virus was made wholly from nonliving parts, using equipment and chemicals on hand in Wimmer's small laboratory at the State University of New York here on Long Island. The most crucial part, the genetic code, was picked up for free on the Internet. Hundreds of tiny bits of viral DNA were purchased online, with final assembly in the lab.
With the single lab a couple colleagues and I share, with the equipment in place, we could probably do the same. The technology isn't hard. The ability to insert a single gene into a plasmid, phage, virus or bacterium is simple enough that now it's in kit form.
Wimmer intended to sound a warning, to show that science had crossed a threshold into an era in which genetically altered and made-from-scratch germ weapons were feasible. But in the four years since, other scientists have made advances faster than Wimmer imagined possible. Government officials, and scientists such as Wimmer, are only beginning to grasp the implications.
Posted by:Steve White

#8  I'm with you TW, a large well stocked Pantry is a Southern Standard.
We might miss things like fresh veggies and Milk, but we could live off our own pantry a good month or so.
And to ensure we get to enjoy that well stocked Pantry, we also have another Southern Tradition, the well stocked Gun Cabinet.
One each provides wonderful peace of mind, even if never used in emergencies.
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2006-07-31 20:26  

#7  I remember a period (around the time of the 2003 invasion, I think) when there were intense discussions about the risks of bio and chem warfare here at Rantburg. The conclusion at the time, as I understood it, was that the most virulent diseases burn out quickly because too large a proportion of the hosts die off before spreading the disease very far, and the ones the spread most effectively are perforce much less deadly -- hence giving time to isolate carriers and develop innoculations and cures -- but that nonetheless I should keep my pantry stocked with a good month's worth of survival rations, and ensure Mr. Wife and the trailing daughters can work from home at need. Oh, and because of our suburban, large-pantry-ed lifestyle, the US is best situated of the advanced countries to survive epidemics and pandemics, whether natural or man-made.

Does that consensus still hold?
Posted by: trailing wife   2006-07-31 15:38  

#6  I don't think we should worry about Muzzies producing bio-warfare agents. Russia, or China, selling them some is a worry.
Posted by: gromgoru   2006-07-31 11:16  

#5  You also have nukes.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles   2006-07-31 07:20  

#4  Airborne diseases will spread faster than a virus can be sequenced, analyzed, vaccine synthesized, distributed, administered, and immunity built up.

That said. Microbial warfare is not something a certain religion wants to engage in. The US is the leader in genetic engineering and with our low population density, redundant infrastructure, diverse racial profile, and world leading medical facilities, will come out of any such war in better shape than any other society.
Posted by: ed   2006-07-31 07:09  

#3  I wonder how hard it would be to create a defense? Distributed labs (and believe me, would want more than one, some out in the open, others with deep cover) that could quickly find, sequence, replicate and crank out vaccines for new, engineered viruses. You would have to constantly be monitoring the blood supply, looking for viruses like small pox that had a long incubation period, so you would want some sort of field presence at major hospitals and bloodbanks. Then you would need a super-robust distribution system.
Posted by: 11A5S   2006-07-31 06:49  

#2  I worry about this kind of tech in the hands of eco-terrorists much more than Islamo-terrorists.

BTW, the article doesn't mention that engineered infectious agents could be used as a extremely effective weapon in a state to state war, if you had a vaccine.
Posted by: phil_b   2006-07-31 04:34  

#1  And this is probably how man, or at least most of mankind, will end. We truly appreciate all those who are diligently serving this market with the wherewithal to bring it about. Sadly, that new Mercedes and the summer house will do them no good when their efforts are finaly realized. I will probably be one of the survivors because I don't really care. But I promise I'll take good care of the car and the house...
Posted by: Supple Whomper9999   2006-07-31 02:46  

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