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As other people have said, it has been possible to make bioweapons for a long time, but engineered bioterrorism hasn't happened. There are a few reasons I thin
by Gatsky 9y ago
As other people have said, it has been possible to make bioweapons for a long time, but engineered bioterrorism hasn't happened.
There are a few reasons I think. Firstly, there is a cultural disconnect between fundamentalism and science heavy weapons development. In the same way that ISIS is not building gigawatt lasers or rail guns, the groups capable of terrorism don't prioritise research. They are often very atavistic, wanting a return to a less technical, less advanced society.
The second thing is that engineering even the simplest organsim is still hard. If you are trying to build a pandemic virus, you need a fairly elaborate set up to do it and avoid killing yourself first. This is far less accessible than making explosives, or obtaining guns.
The biggest risk is state funded labs in eg North Korea, or the emergence of contract labs willing to do anything for a fee, eg a 'biohacking' equivalent of Hacking Team.
- cirgue 9y agoAum Shinrikyo actually had a bio-weapons program that failed, seemingly due to a lack of technical expertise: http://www.nti.org/analysis/articles/revisiting-aum-shinrikyo-new-insights-most-extensive-non-state-biological-weapons-program-date-1/ http://www.nti.org/analysis/articles/revisiting-aum-shinriky...
- Gatsky 9y agoThat was a fascinating and disconcerting read. The part where a cult member falls into the fermentation tank supposedly filled with botulinum toxin and comes out unscathed I guess illustrates the point I was trying to make.
- fellellor 9y agoI have a feeling that suicide is easier when the costs are low. Once a terror organization develops respectable level of technical capability, like north Korea, they would tend to evolve into a criminal organization. I don't know if that is much better since a rational criminal organization may pose a much bigger threat than a fanatical group of terrorists.