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BIOTERRORISM will rely on an enhanced or modified pathogenic virus or bacteria, possibly even one never seen on this planet before, but created synthetically. While it is extremely unlikely that a genome-specific weapon can be developed so the aggressors will need to be already vaccinated against the agent. View in LinkedIn

BIODEFENSE VACCINE RACE. "Scientists ... are racing to develop vaccines ... before they can be used in a large-scale act of bioterrorism. “One of the scariest threats we face is the potential of engineered or synthetic diseases. We are rapidly approaching the time where the creation of novel diseases that have never existed will become a reality.” http://lnkd.in/dCJ4KTD View in LinkedIn

BIODEFENSE R&D DOWNSIDE: "The number of institutions and individuals working with dangerous biological weapons agents, many without previous experience, is increasing the risk of dangerous pathogens being released accidentally ... It is also giving thousands of individuals access to materials, technologies, knowledge, and skills that could be used for biological weapons attacks." http://lnkd.in/dvUdaty View in LinkedIn

ERA OF LIFE SCIENCES. "Some people refer to World War I as “the chemists’ war,” and World War II became the “first war of physics” as a result of the formal development of nuclear weapons ... some suggest we are now in war of life sciences ... The idea of threats evolving from the misuse of life sciences by individuals is a new concept." http://lnkd.in/dYnCrCG View in LinkedIn

NIAID BIODEFENCE ROLE."A pillar of the biodefence enterprise is the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in Bethesda, Maryland, which got a $1.5-billion budget boost in 2003 and has so far received $14 billion for biodefence. It is there, say critics, that some early and crucial mistakes were made." http://lnkd.in/d7EQ7xE View in LinkedIn

$60 BILLION AND A DECADE: VACCINE RESULTS? "Between 2001 and the end of this year, the federal government will have spent $60 billion on such biodefence efforts... But few researchers or policy-makers seem happy with an arsenal of six drugs that address only three of the potential threats — even if they are among the most serious." http://lnkd.in/d7EQ7xE View in LinkedIn

A CLEAN BROOM TO WIPE OUT BS" "" "We could benefit from some radical clean thinking in Barcelona, to bust out of the straight-jacket of old ways of thinking that have held this great city back for too long. London and the US offer great models. View in LinkedIn

TRICKLE DOWN. (2012). "only 10% of the proposed $6.4 billion is dedicated exclusively to civilian biodefense. The other 90% is for projects with both biodefense and non-biodefense implications... of the $60 billion spent on biodefense in the past decade, only about $12 billion went for programs solely concerned with biodefense." http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/bioterrorism-still-a-threat-to-the-united-states View in LinkedIn

LONDON'S BUZZ IS RECENT" "" "Tech city is proof that things can change fast when the infrastructure is right. Barcelona has the hospitals, science parks, entrepreneurs, and creativity. It too could reinvent itself and transform into the GoTo place for entrepreneurs. View in LinkedIn

BW PREPAREDNESS 2010: GRADE F. "The administration’s failure to “enhance the nation’s capabilities for rapid response to prevent biological attacks from inflicting mass casualties” merited a grade of “F”. Almost as bad was the “D+” given for continuing inadequate oversight of high-containment laboratories." http://lnkd.in/dFZkZK8 View in LinkedIn