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Researching viruses in general is not a dual-use activity. Most viruses spread everywhere when they get out. Pathogens like anthrax can't spread from human to h
by whatshisface 5y ago
Researching viruses in general is not a dual-use activity. Most viruses spread everywhere when they get out. Pathogens like anthrax can't spread from human to human, making them plausible weapons and proportionally decreasing the urgency of researching them. (The labs may have been researching anthrax but the odds are fair that none of their research involved anything that could be a weapon.)
Edited to replace virus with "pathogen".
- shkkmo 5y ago> proportionally decreasing the urgency of researching them Unless your primary concern is defensive against biowarfare rather than natural outbreaks...which is indeed a priority for military research h.
- whatshisface 5y agoThat's true, but it remains that bioweapon research is distinct from virus research.
- ashwagary 5y agoI disagree, there is plenty of overlap.
- orwin 5y agoNo, no bioweapon is a virus. You have toxin based or bacteria based bioweapons, but not any virus bioweapon yet. It's a bad idea, and an extremely difficult and costly operation to engineer a virus.
- t-3 5y agoDo you think nobody is carrying out research just because it's costly, difficult, and hasn't been demonstrated yet?
- bewaretheirs 5y agoAnthrax is a disease caused by a bacterium, not a virus. Production of Bacillus anthracis spores for weapons use in the Soviet Union was in progress when an accident resulted in a release of spores that killed at least 66 people: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sverdlovsk_anthrax_leak https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sverdlovsk_anthrax_leak
- exolymph 5y agoNo, the point is that viral research is inherently dual-use regardless of intent: "You can't research against diseases/viruses/etc without procuring, creating and developing them."
- whatshisface 5y agoResearch about polio is not dual-use because there's no way to restart a polio epidemic in the enemy's country without it spreading to yours.
- cameronh90 5y agoI'm not even sure that's true. Knowing anything about viruses means you're better placed to try and use them as a weapon versus someone who does no research on them. You can try and find specific counter examples, but I think the idea that most virus research, and scientific research in general, could likely be repurposed for bad or good, is probably pretty accurate in general. Policing "bad" science while allowing "good" science is probably an impossible task.