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ARTelevision · 11-15-2003, 05:45 AM

Scientists Fear Bioweapons Horror
VOA News
15 Nov 2003, 01:33 UTC

Scientists are telling the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency that advances in biotechnology could be used to create biological weapons worse than any disease known to humans.
A CIA report released Friday, entitled "The Darker Bioweapons Future," details the fears of respected, independent scientists who met at a conference in January.

The report says new genetic engineering technology being used to create cures for disease could also create horrific diseases with no cure. Such weapons could include a "stealth" virus that would lie dormant in a victim for a specific amount of time, or until triggered by the introduction of another, non-lethal substance.

Another biotechnology weapon might only attack people who already have a common malady, such as arthritis, thus crippling a nation with an overwhelming medical emergency.

The report says traditional methods for guarding against weapons of mass destruction may fail against such threats because they could be virtually impossible to trace to their source.

The report does not say which countries or groups might use such bioweapons to threaten the United States.

Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.

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I'm generally a positive-thinking fellow. I try to see the up side of things. But when I think about the relationship between us and the rest of Nature, I sometimes find it difficult to come up with anything more than something like, "If it's possible, someone will do it."

It's sort of like a bunch of kids with chemistry sets. There's always going to be one or three of them who end up making bombs. I'd rather not post this in Philosophy or Politics because my thoughts on this aren't so much a rumination on the nature of people or political realities as they are just a general interest in a discussion about remaining positive in the face of certain inevitabilities regarding human nature.

Yeah that's it. I think we need to remain positive even in the face of what we sort of know to be the case about how some of us tend to make a mess of things.

Do you tend to bounce back from bad news? I'm interested in how you do it. Do you ignore stuff like this? Or do you take a gambler's view on the odds and hope the worst won't happen? Or even if it does, do you still keep looking at the best and brightest of our accomplishments?

11-15-2003, 05:45 AM	#1 (permalink)
ARTelevision I change Location: USA	Being positive, even in the face of bad news... Scientists Fear Bioweapons Horror VOA News 15 Nov 2003, 01:33 UTC Scientists are telling the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency that advances in biotechnology could be used to create biological weapons worse than any disease known to humans. A CIA report released Friday, entitled "The Darker Bioweapons Future," details the fears of respected, independent scientists who met at a conference in January. The report says new genetic engineering technology being used to create cures for disease could also create horrific diseases with no cure. Such weapons could include a "stealth" virus that would lie dormant in a victim for a specific amount of time, or until triggered by the introduction of another, non-lethal substance. Another biotechnology weapon might only attack people who already have a common malady, such as arthritis, thus crippling a nation with an overwhelming medical emergency. The report says traditional methods for guarding against weapons of mass destruction may fail against such threats because they could be virtually impossible to trace to their source. The report does not say which countries or groups might use such bioweapons to threaten the United States. Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters. ................................................... I'm generally a positive-thinking fellow. I try to see the up side of things. But when I think about the relationship between us and the rest of Nature, I sometimes find it difficult to come up with anything more than something like, "If it's possible, someone will do it." It's sort of like a bunch of kids with chemistry sets. There's always going to be one or three of them who end up making bombs. I'd rather not post this in Philosophy or Politics because my thoughts on this aren't so much a rumination on the nature of people or political realities as they are just a general interest in a discussion about remaining positive in the face of certain inevitabilities regarding human nature. Yeah that's it. I think we need to remain positive even in the face of what we sort of know to be the case about how some of us tend to make a mess of things. Do you tend to bounce back from bad news? I'm interested in how you do it. Do you ignore stuff like this? Or do you take a gambler's view on the odds and hope the worst won't happen? Or even if it does, do you still keep looking at the best and brightest of our accomplishments? __________________ create evolution