A different friend emails what serves in substance as a rebuttal to the point made by Dr. Melanie Ulrich, Ivins colleague. She and other experts should be contacted to see if they agree. He is oft-quoted and has a distinguished University position.
“Two points :
“(1) A SpeedVac, when coupled to a dry ice trap or condenser (the
configuration most frequently encountered in biomedical research labs),
functions as a lyophilizer. (In many, if not most, cases in which
post-1980s biomedical research papers state that a sample was “lyophilized,”
the papers refer to use of a SpeedVac.)
“(2) 1-4 g of wet bacterial cells or spores occupies a volume less than 5
ml.
(A 1 liter culture presumably would be required to produce 1-4 g of dried
bacterial cells or spores...but more than 99.5% of the 1 liter starting
volume first would be removed, in seconds to minutes, by decanting,
centrifugation, or filtration, leaving less than 0.5% of the 1 liter
starting volume to be dried.)
In short:
(1) SpeedVac = lyophilizer.
(2) If it would take 1 h to process a 1 ml sample, then it would take 1 h to
five 1 ml samples (since a SpeedVac, as most frequently configured, holds,
and simultaneously processes, up to 1 ml samples), and thus it would take 1
h to dry sufficient spore paste to yield 1-4 g of dried spores.
Here are some URLs relevant to the 2 P.M. briefing.
If I were a science writer there, I would ask for their explanation of what the FBI calls the “silicon signature,” the issue of isotope ratios (which MSNBC indicated that the culture had been grown in the Northeastern United States), and the issue of subtilus contamination.
On the issue of the genetic inquiry, the key take-how is that it narrowed it only to 8 known isolates (at how many labs, 4?), and 100 known people KNOWN to have access. The phrasing “sole custodian” as to Ivins in the FBI affidavits creates a misleading impression. He was the “sole custodian “ of the flask but not of the stream of genetically identical isolates downstream from the flask. The flask did not have a silicon signature. The flask did not have subtilus contamination.
Investigation of Bioterrorism-Related Anthrax, United States, 2001: Epidemiologic Findings,” Emerging Infectious Diseases, October 2002
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol8no10/02-0353.htm
“First Case of Bioterrorism-Related Inhalational Anthrax in the United States,” Palm Beach County, Florida, 2001, Emerging Infectious Diseases, October 2002
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol8no10/02-0354.htm
“First Case of Bioterrorism-Related Inhalational Anthrax, Florida, 2001: North Carolina Investigation,” Emerging Infectious Diseases, October 2002
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol8no10/02-0389.htm
“Opening a Bacillus anthracis–Containing Envelope, Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.: The Public Health Response,” Emerging Infectious Diseases, October 2002
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol8no10/02-0332.htm
“Inhalational Anthrax Outbreak among Postal Workers, Washington, D.C., 2001,” Emerging Infectious Diseases, October 2002
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol8no10/02-0330.htm
“Bacillus anthracis Aerosolization Associated with a Contaminated Mail Sorting Machine,” Emerging Infectious Diseases, October 2002
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol8no10/02-0329.htm
“Epidemiologic Investigations of Bioterrorism-Related Anthrax, New Jersey, 2001,” Emerging Infectious Diseases, October 2002
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol8no10/02-0322.htm
“Surveillance for Anthrax Cases Associated with Contaminated Letters, New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania, 2001,” Emerging Infectious Diseases, October 2002
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol8no10/02-0399.htm
“Bioterrorism-Related Anthrax Surveillance, Connecticut, September–December, 2001,” Emerging Infectious Diseases, October 2002
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol8no10/02-0398.htm
“Environmental Sampling for Spores of Bacillus anthracis,” Emerging Infectious Diseases, October 2002
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol8no10/02-0355.htm
“Call-Tracking Data and the Public Health Response to Bioterrorism-Related Anthrax,” Emerging Infectious Diseases, October 2002
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol8no10/02-0390.htm
“Coordinated Response to Reports of Possible Anthrax Contamination, Idaho, 2001,” Emerging Infectious Diseases, October 2002
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol8no10/02-0390.htm
“Bioterrorism-Related Anthrax: International Response by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” Emerging Infectious Diseases, October 2002
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol8no10/02-0345.htm
Beecher, Douglas J., “Forensic Application of Microbiological Culture Analysis To Identify Mail Intentionally Contaminated with Bacillus anthracis Spores,” Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Aug. 2006, p. 5304-5310
Bowen, G. J., J. R. Ehleringer, L. Chesson, E. Stange, and C. E. Cerling. 2007. “Stable isotope ratios of tap water in the contiguous USA,” Water Resour. Res. 43:W03419.
http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2007/2006WR005186.shtml
Budowle B, Harmon R., “HIV legal precedent useful for microbial forensics,” Croat Med J. 46(4):514-21 (Aug 2005).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=16100753&ordinalpos=3&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum
Budowle, B., M. D. Johnson, C. M. Fraser, T. J. Leighton, R. S. Murch, and R. Chakraborty. 2005. “Genetic analysis and attribution of microbial forensics evidence,” Crit. Rev. Microbiol. 31:233-254.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=16417203&dopt=AbstractPlus
Budowle B, Murch R, Chakraborty R., “Microbial forensics: the next forensic challenge,” Int J Legal Med. 119(6):317-30 (Nov 2005).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=15821943&ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum
Budowle, B., S. E. Schutzer, M. S. Ascher, R. M. Atlas, J. P. Burans, R. Chakraborty, J. J. Dunn, C. M. Fraser, D. R. Franz, T. J. Leighton, S. A. Morse, R. S. Murch, J. Ravel, D. L. Rock, T. R.
Slezak, S. P. Velsko, A. C. Walsh, and R. A. Walters. “Toward a system of microbial forensics: from sample collection to interpretation of evidence,” Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71:2209-2213 (2005).
http://aem.asm.org/cgi/content/full/71/5/2209?ijkey=11f63da16d84d14221469a04d0917d00b4ae7e74&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha
Budowle, B., S. E. Schutzer, A. Einseln, L. C. Kelley, A. C. Walsh, J. A. L. Smith, B. L. Marrone, J. Robertson, and J. Campos. Building microbial forensics as a response to bioterrorism. Science 301:1852-1853 (2003).
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/301/5641/1852?ijkey=6c5eda5d0b0d4dec11807281f555d5087c756235&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha
Cliff, J. B., K. H. Jarman, N. B. Valentine, S. L. Golledge, D. J. Gaspar, D. S. Wunschel, and K. L. Wahl, “Differentiation of spores of Bacillus subtilis grown in different media by elemental characterization using time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry,” Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71:6524-6530 (2005)
http://aem.asm.org/cgi/content/abstract/71/11/6524?ijkey=8feb323b80876abedc9727959678c8b67e431489&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha
Horita, J., and A. A. Vass, “Stable-isotope fingerprints of biological agents as forensic tools,” J. Forensic Sci. 48:122-126 (2003)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=12570211&dopt=AbstractPlus
Keim et al., “Microbial forensics: DNA fingerprinting of Bacillus anthracis (anthrax),” Analytical Chemistry, 2008 Jul; 80 (13): 4791-9
http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/ancham/80/i13/html/0708feature_keim.html
Kreuzer-Martin, H. W., L. A. Chesson, M. J. Lott, J. V. Dorigan, and J. R. Ehleringer, “Stable isotope ratios as a tool in microbial forensics. 2. Isotopic variation among different growth media as a tool for sourcing origins of bacterial cells or spores,” J. Forensic Sci. 49:961-967 (2004).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=15461095&dopt=AbstractPlus
Kreuzer-Martin, H. W., L. A. Chesson, M. J. Lott, and J. R. Ehleringer, “Stable isotope ratios as a tool in microbial forensics. 3. Effect of culturing on agar-containing growth media,” J. Forensic Sci. 50:1372-1379 (2005).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=16382831&dopt=AbstractPlus
Kreuzer-Martin, H. W., M. J. Lott, J. Dorigan, and J. R. Ehleringer, “Microbe forensics: oxygen and hydrogen stable isotope ratios in Bacillus subtilis cells and spores,” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 100:815-819 (2003).
http://www.pnas.org/content/100/3/815.abstract?ijkey=fab4cbbab441ba7dff87548c7f41866771a131bb&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha
J.B. Petro, and D.A Relman, “Understanding Threats to Scientific Openness, Science, December 12, 2003
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/sci;302/5652/1898/DC1
Shoham, Dany & Jacobsen, Stuart “Technical Intelligence in Retrospect: 2001 Anthrax Letters Powder,” International Journal for Intelligence and Counterintelligence, October 2006
Wahl, K. L., N. B. Valentine, S. C. Wunschel, D. S. Wunschel, K. H. Jarman, and C. E. Petersen. Microorganism analysis and identification by MALDI-TOF-MS. Abstr. Pap. Am. Chem. Soc. 226:U121 (2003).
Wunschel, D. S., E. A. Hill, J. S. McLean, K. Jarman, Y. A. Gorby, N. Valentine, and K. Wahl. Effects of varied pH, growth rate and temperature using controlled fermentation and batch culture on matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization whole cell protein fingerprints. J. Microbiol. Methods 62:259-271 (2005).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=15979749&dopt=AbstractPlus
Wunschel, S. C., K. H. Jarman, C. E. Petersen, N. B. Valentine, K. L. Wahl, D. Schauki, J. Jackman, C. P. Nelson, and E. White. Bacterial analysis by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry: an inter-laboratory comparison. J. Am. Soc. Mass Spectrom. 16:456-462 (2005).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=15792714&dopt=AbstractPlus