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BIOWARFARE AND BIOTERRORISM are very heavy duty subjects, and I apologize ahead of time for the truly disturbing nature of these topics. But if we are to finger-wag the biopunkers and the ethics of synthetic biology, we should at least view this in context, and the reality is that unethical work (uniformed consent, to put it mildly), and careless work (vast contamination, leaks, blunders) has been secretly conducted by many nations in the name of security. Sit tight and endure. View in LinkedIn

DNA OR GENE THEFT. "Great Britain criminalized the taking of DNA without consent in 2006 ... Australia's legislature debated a two year jail sentence for such theft in 2008. In the United States, eight states currently have criminal or civil prohibitions on such nonconsensual appropriation of genetic materials. Lawsuits against "gene snatchers" are permitted in Minnesota, New Hampshire and New Mexico. In jurisdictions where such nonconsentual taking of DNA is illegal, exceptions are generally made for law enforcement."" " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_theft View in LinkedIn

BIOTERRORISM. "Individuals could be singled out by infecting them with agents that produce chronic fatigue, reducing their ability to function. Organisations could be precision-targeted through contamination of delivered mail, environmental systems or cafeterias. Wider areas could be affected by releasing agents into municipal water supplies, into the air using crop-dusting equipment or via foodstuffs delivered to the region."" " http://lnkd.in/dkjx-Yi View in LinkedIn

YOUR DNA on childhood letters, gifts, artifacts are your enduring legacy. We could of course sequence the DNA of Michelangelo from his personal writings and even recreate his progeny. View in LinkedIn

SYNBIOLOGY AHEAD OF CURVE."Combined with breakthroughs in another area of biology, "gain-of-function" research, the synthetic genomics field has spawned a dizzying array of new possibilities, challenges, and national security threats ... the global bioterrorism and biosecurity establishment remains well behind the curve, mired in antiquated notions about what threats are important and how best to counter them."" " http://lnkd.in/dyGvsfW View in LinkedIn

EXTINCT DISEASES INVESTIGATED. "Legitimate scientists have recreated other pathogenic viruses in the laboratory, including a SARS-like virus and the formerly extinct strain of influenza virus responsible for the 1918-19 “Spanish Flu” pandemic, which is estimated to have infected a third of the world population and killed three to five percent." A 30,000 year old dormant giant virus, Pithovirus sibericum, was resurrected from Siberian permafrost that was, surprisingly, still infective."" " http://lnkd.in/dF_rGWt http:/http://lnkd.in/dzX9u4Z View in LinkedIn

REGENESIS OF EXTINCT DISEASES. "In 2002, scientists at Stony Brook University recreated the polio virus from scratch based on its published genetic sequence. This demonstration prompted fears that terrorist organizations might exploit the same technique to synthesize more deadly viral agents, such the smallpox virus, as biological weapons."" " http://lnkd.in/dF_rGWt View in LinkedIn

THE BLOG STRING AHEAD will consider bioterrorism and biowarfare, a step up from the past series of biocrime, and following from the democratizing forces in life science research and the biopunk movement. Linear but darker, I am afraid, but a growing reality. The findings may surprise you, as they did me. Sometimes identifying the good players can be more difficult than anticipated. View in LinkedIn

FUTURE BIOCRIME will likely mimic cybercrime in both methods, and in the phenomenal scale it is reaching today. Not unlike nuclear energy, used for life-saving cancer medicine and weapons of mass destruction, modern biology has the dual ability to do enormous and truly transformative good for humanity, and is capable of serious abuse. The genie is out of the bottle. And no amount of legislation and regulation will stop motivated criminal activity. View in LinkedIn

LARGEST INTERNET ATTACK YET. "A massive attack that exploited a key vulnerability in the infrastructure of the internet is the "start of ugly things to come", it has been warned. Online security specialists Cloudflare said it recorded the "biggest" attack of its kind on Monday. Several experts had predicted that the NTP would be used for malicious purposes." " " http://lnkd.in/dtbuHup View in LinkedIn