http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?...p?id=ns99994318

The United States have commisioned the University of St. Louis to genetically alter the smallpox virus so that it kills 100% of lab mice that if infects. It cannot infect humans yet, but they are also working on a cowpox virus which CAN affect humans...

Anyone else really scared?

The Abstruse One

Nope. It's the University of St. Louis.

Interesting after the huge stink they had with Iraq over bio-weapons. Can anyone say "double-standard'?

Personally, the thought of George W. F*ckwit with anything more powerful in his hand than a capgun scares the hell out of me.

Although I have to admit, I would be interested in knowing the justification for such research.

-Siege

Hold on a sec - the United States is a signatory to a ban on biological and chemical weapons use AND RESEARCH. Now an American university is looking into how they can create a killer virus that can infect humans? Is this for real or just taken out of context?

The reason the US kept stockpiles of bio-weapons previously: to develop countermeasures. Antidotes, antibodies, etc.

That's one possible explanation, but like I said I don't know the stated reason for this research.

Granted, knowing how a virus could mutate might provide some insights into related branches of research. But the maybe benefit in that instance doesn't outweigh the potential risk of creating such a dangerous weapon.

-Siege

It was a few months ago that Bush was asking Congress to allow the reimplementation of the US Chemical Weapons programs, so I'm not surprised.

~J

Certainly fits with the "we want to build a military no one can fight" doesn't it?

I have yet to find a Bush basher that can suggest an alternate strategy for rebuilding Iraq.

Here's one: Nuke the entire Middle East and let it wallow in radioactive misery until who-cares-when.

Not knock it down.

~J

I would have been more impressed if Bush had a more realistic expectation of the consequences.

That being said, this isn't the dear departed lounge and I think we'd better nip this in the bud before we get an official warning to knock it off.

-Siege