Next Generation Bioweapons: The Technology of Genetic Engineering Applied to Biowarfare and Bioterrorism
Abstract
The history of warfare and the history of disease are unquestionably interwoven. Throughout the history of warfare, disease and non-battle injury have accounted for more deaths and loss of combat capability than from actual battle in war itself. The most striking example is the great influenza pandemic during World War I that killed 20 million people or more worldwide in 1918. Although this was a naturally occurring event, what if a country could create a biological agent that could yield the same catastrophic loss of life on the enemy? That, in essence, is the potential effect of applying genetic engineering for biological warfare (BW) or bioterrorism (BT). Today, we face not only natural diseases (including emerging infectious diseases), but also threats of BW or BT, possibly with genetically engineered agents, that may resist known therapies. In simple terms, genetic engineering is the process of human%an intervention to transfer functional genes (DNA) between two biological organisms. In the BW/BT context, it is the manipulation of genes to create new pathogenic characteristics (increased survivability, infectivity, violence, drug resistance, etc). Organisms with altered characteristics are the "new generation" biological weapons.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA468243
Entities
People
- Michael J. Ainscough
Organizations
- Air University