Can Scientific Censorship Stop Bioterrorism?

Reason ^ | January 31, 2012 | Ronald Bailey

[neverdem]

The best defense against a deadly attack with avian flu is the open scientific enterprise.

Today the U.S. National Scientific Advisory Board for Biosecurity recommended that the journals Nature and Science restrict publication about controversial new research relevant to the transmission of avian flu between humans. The fear: Would-be bioterrorists are combing the pages of the journals for tips on how to wreak havoc.

The H5N1 avian flu virus has killed 60 percent of the 600 or so people known to have come down with it since it was first identified in 1997. For comparison, seasonal flu in the United States kills about 0.1 0.003* percent of those who catch it. So far the H5N1 virus has not become easily transmissible between humans. But recently two research teams, one in the Netherlands and another in Wisconsin, reported that they had succeeded in transforming the virus into versions that are transmissible via respiratory drops through the air between mammals. In the normal course of scientific research, the teams approached the journals Science and Nature about publishing their results. Publication is the way that scientists get credit for their achievements and enable fellow researchers to benefit from and build upon their work.

Reports of this research, however, provoked worries that publishing the recipe for making the bird flu virus transmissible could enable bioterrorists to unleash a devastating global epidemic that could kill billions of people. The editorial page editors at The New York Times are so frightened at the prospect that they have called on the researchers to destroy their new strains of the virus. Consequently, concerned journal editors and peer reviewers sought the advice of the U.S. National Scientific Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB). In December, the NSABB recommended that the journals withhold research details to impede would-be bioterrorists.

In January...

[neverdem]

FReepmail me if you want on or off my combined microbiology/immunology ping list.

[Smokin' Joe]

It’s pretty tough to put the genie back in the bottle. What I want to know, is what the H*** these yo-yos were thinking even creating such strains?

[GladesGuru]

“The best defense against bioterrorism is the open and international scientific enterprise itself, not government recommended (and perhaps one day enforced) secrecy.”

Only partially true.

The best protection against terrorism is total annihilation of whatever the terrorist hold of value.

As most terrorists are Muslim, the nuking of Media as retaliation for the first Muslim terrorist offense would be of likely efficacy. An assurance that Mecca would be next would guarantee Muslim compliance.

[mkjessup]

As most terrorists are Muslim, the nuking of Media as retaliation for the first Muslim terrorist offense would be of likely efficacy. An assurance that Mecca would be next would guarantee Muslim compliance.

A fine idea which I heartily endorse. Unfortunately, that train left the station on Sept 12, 2001 when GWB failed to do exactly that. A President with REAL balls would have had a target list drawn up including Mecca, Kabul, Baghdad and Tehran, informed the freakin Muzzies they had 24 hours to get their civilian populations out of harm's way, and then add those targets to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the history books.

GWB prattled away about that bad azz 'Axis of Evil' but in the end, he was only concerned about seeing Saddam in the hangman's noose as personal payback for Saddam having targeted Poppy Bush for assassination in Kuwait years before. Just ran his yap about Iran, then actually took North Korea OFF the list of terrorist supporting nations, and his record will not be as some grand 'liberator' of Iraq, it will be as an appeaser of Iran and North Korea, in addition to failing miserably to secure our borders from foreign invaders and infiltrators.

[MrEdd]

No it can’t.

[GladesGuru]

El Presidente Jorge Booosh was paid for by the Saudi Royal Family, using our oil money. A book titled House of Bush, House of Saud detailed how 1.476 Billion buck of ‘investment’ money bought the Bush family.

By American standards, Jorge Booosh was honest, in that even after the Twin Towers were destroyed by his paymaster’s other employees, Al Qaida, he authorized a flight of Saudi Royal family members to take off from an otherwise totally grounded American air travel system.

[mkjessup]

Yes that is exactly correct. And that is why George W. Bush should have been the subject of a special prosecutor and/or a team of military investigators (hey, he was USAF reserve at one point, let the United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations look into it, for starters).

Everyone and his dog is calling the actions of 0bama the acts of a traitor, the acts of a foreign agent, but because George W. Bush wrapped himself in the Flag, made chest thumping speeches about conducting a 'War on Terror', shouting through a bullhorn at Ground Zero, GWB got a pass on being questioned on HIS actions in the wake of 9/11.

Bush and every RINO and 'Rat (and sadly, some conservatives too) in the government all came together to create the fascist monstrosity known as the 'Department of Homeland Security' and their brown shirt sock puppets 'TSA' who have failed to stop ANY terrorists but HAVE succeeded in groping, molesting and intimidating innocent American citizens with their day in, day out routine of crapping on the Bill of Rights.

And while the above DHS/TSA monster was running amok with their new found powers, Bush was doing absolutely NOTHING about securing our southern borders, and why would he? He was too busy kissing the ass of his buddy Vincente Fox.

Oh yeah, no doubt in my mind that Bush was bought and paid for, and in my view the Saudis were just the highest bidder and got the biggest piece of GWB, and like you said: once bought, he stayed bought and let those Saudis fly right outta here after 9/11, no questions asked.

Did Bush do some good things during his eight years? Sure he did, and I give credit where credit is due. But the 'good' is outweighed and tainted by the greater malfeasance and failure that will define his presidency in the history books.

[null and void]

“Our dear friends, the Saudis” ~ George Bush

[vetvetdoug]

There are hundreds of people capable of making a dangerous bioweapon. Look at how many here at FR would be capable. I know I am and I am way down on the list of microbiologists that are capable. I don't think censorship is an option because the time for this is long gone.

[neverdem]

Ping

[acapesket]

TX

[acapesket]

I agree. The genie can NEVER go back in the bottle.
You have all of these Narcisstic Scientists competing against one another for government funding, they don’t work with one another due to the competition for funds. So they try to screw the next guy and be the world’s saving genius.
Take government funding and drug company support away from Universities and Medical Institutions and we will suddenly have a plethora of new “cures”.

These people don’t want to “cure” any disease!
The money is in “treatment”.

They have all been making money, Science, Congress and drug companies off of all of us for the last sixty years or so.

Just note all of the wonderful new diseases that we have! ADD ADHD Autism Breast cancer, a proliferation of ALZ, MS, Parkinson’s and other degenerative diseases.

They can all be followed back to WW2 and the beginning of the the Cold War, post WW2. Look to the army funded “science” going on at that time!
Talk about Genie’s out of the Bottle!

OY!