The technology is available to the common. What if this technology falls
into the hands of the terrorists, would they refrain from using it. The
biological weapons are also the result of the technological research carried
out create new living molecules, or organisms which can also be used for
destruction of the other living beings, through destroying the life cycle,
causing viral disease, causing epidemic, and easiliy spreadable diseases.
VIAA Pavillion
Casablanca, Morocco Conference
International Council for the Life Sciences (ICLS)
The biotechnology sector continues to enjoy steady growth, causing some
industry experts to urge for better oversight to keep the technology out of
the hands of criminals. In 2002 it took five years to develop the genomic
sequence of a polio virus. Three years later it took a week for a team the
same size to do the same on a virus of similar length. Such rapid progress
has left policymakers wondering how to ensure security in a disparate,
thinly regulated industry -- a concern that surfaced at a weekend conference
in Morocco where experts considered the threat of pandemics and major
biological incidents in the Middle East and North Africa.
Equipment such as micro-reactors, flow reactors and disposable reactors to
produce useable volumes of complex molecules were not even available 10
years ago. Potentially dangerous organisms tend to be harder to spot at the
development stage than nuclear materials. Attacks involving anthrax-laced
letters in the United States in 2001 killed five people, including two U.S.
Postal Service workers from a facility in Washington, D.C., and made 13
sick. Thousands were given antibiotics to prevent disease. In 1995, Japan's
Aum Shinrikyo cult killed 12 people in a Sarin gas attack on Tokyo's subway
system.
The US Army plans ahead to be secure from biological threat!
The US Army says it is planning a daylong, outdoor biological weapons
defense exercise next week at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland.
Spokeswoman Caree Vander Linden said Friday the mock emergency on Wednesday
will include people in hazardous materials suits and ambulances with sirens.
She said the exercise will test the capabilities of law enforcement, hazmat
teams and medical workers in responding to a biological attack. - The
Associated Press
External Resources:
http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1666437/biotech_groups_call_for_better_industry_oversight/
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