``Where are the biological scientists willing to go on the record about bioweapons?`` he asks.
Anthrax
Biological weapons are ``the poor man`s atom bomb,`` writes Block in American Scientist.
He argues that bioweapons offer terrorist groups and ``rogue states`` (such as Iraq and North Korea) an affordable way to counter the overwhelming military superiority of the United States and other nuclear powers.
The agent of choice for most biological warfare programs, writes Block, is anthrax. Anthrax bacteria produce extremely lethal spores, and breathing in large numbers can lead to inhalation anthrax - a disease that usually is fatal unless treated with large doses of a penicillin-type antibiotic immediately after exposure.
Anthrax spores are easy to produce and can remain viable for more than 100 years if kept dry and out of direct sunlight.
Their long shelf life makes them ``well suited to weaponization in a device that can deliver a widespread aerosol,`` Block notes.
Anthrax also is relatively easy and safe to handle.
``Airborne spores remain infectious until they fall to the ground, where most become inactivated by sunlight,`` Block writes.
``Anthrax is not very communicable,`` he adds, ``thereby reducing the risk that it will spread beyond the intended target. Moreover, a well-established vaccine exists that can prevent the onset of the disease, allowing it to be used safely by the aggressor.``
``Black biology``
If anthrax, smallpox and other ``conventional`` biological agents aren`t frightening enough, Block also raises the specter of ``black biology`` - a shadowy science in which microorganisms are genetically engineered for the sole purpose of creating novel weapons of terror.
``The idea that anybody can brew this stuff in their garage vastly overstates the case,`` he says, ``but any technology that can be used to insert genes into DNA can be used for either good or bad.``
Block points
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Contact: Mark Shwartz
mshwartz@stanford.edu
650-723-9296
Stanford University
11-Jan-2001