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There's only so much variation between people. Everyone uses the same proteins, more or less, to do the same things. Therefore, there's only so many ways to att
by COGlory 7y ago
There's only so much variation between people. Everyone uses the same proteins, more or less, to do the same things. Therefore, there's only so many ways to attack cells and you can bet that nature has already tried them all. There's a limited angle of attack, plus we already have broad immune systems to protect against most ways.
There's other problems with bioterrorism as well. If you make something lethal, it tends not to spread well because it kills the host too quickly. That's why way more people get the cold than Ebola. Pathogens tend to reach equilibrium within a generation inside a population. The narrower and more specific the group it infects, the harder it is for it to transmit.
- p1mrx 7y agoYou just need to combine a harmless virus with a deadly one, such that the whole thing gets copied, but the deadly part remains dormant until it detects a particular sequence in the host. I'm sure that's easier said than done, but it seems plausible that genetic engineering could progress to the point where targeted bioweapons become a real concern.