08/14/06 Terror of Bio-terrorism

The irony of technology is that in the right hands it is a gift, in the wrong it can destroy. A cell phone at the scene of an accident can be lifesaving , a cell phone in the hands of a distracted driver can kill The same is true of medicine. New DNA research and gene modification has irradiated many diseases, yet as evidenced by the work of Eckard Wimmer the first person to actually create a live artificial virus, terrorists now have the capability to manufacture deadly virus's, and even more frightening they can make them from scratch. Eckard Wimmer says he produced his "faux virus" in 2002 as a warning, he wanted the world to wake up to the fact that genetically altered germ weapons can be manufactured. Yet others label his work a "dangerous stunt". Like a horror movie Wimmer has given al-Qaida new ideas for germ warfare filling their heads with novel ways to murder by manipulating hormones, resurrecting influenzas or creating new deadly strains of diseases. We must hope bio-terrorism experts can remain diligently one step ahead.