[DIYbio] Re: DIYBIO in the news..."Amateurs Are New Fear in Creating Mutant Virus"

http://sciblogs.co.nz/molecular-matters/2012/03/19/chemical-forensics-seeking-clues-at-the-molecular-level/

- report by the Center for a New American Security

"a generally skilled chemist can produce a chemical weapon, whereas a generally trained biologist is likely to have more difficulty propagating and conserving an unfamiliar pathogen."

I don't see the govt confiscating glassware. The lack of context and scaremongering makes a case for software such as rbutr.
http://shanegreenup.com/2012/01/mapping-the-discourse-of-the-internet/

There will always be Frankenstein luddites, but the point is to show that any profession has a set of ethics behind them. Classic example, hackers love making emulators and playing nostalgic games. However, a strict definition is that this is copyright infringement subject to criminal prosecution. However, what the group did was only release emulators which were based on obsolete hardware and only linked to abandonware. I find hackers (cf crackers & P2P torrents) to be very conscious of the economic harm and moral dilemmas in their work. Unfortunately this is not well known and exploited by vested interested in painting a picture of hippy anarcists. Sigh ... out with the cluebat (again).

Lawrence
http://www.linkedin.com/in/drllau

On Tuesday, 6 March 2012 12:00:59 UTC+13, Chris Templeman wrote:

Interesting article from the standpoint of the completely disparate points of view. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/​03/06/health/amateur-​biologists-are-new-fear-in-​making-a-mutant-flu-virus.html​  

The range from whether it is possible to create H1N1 is pretty broad...

compare for instance:

"If you are a farmer somewhere in China, you could do it," said Dr. Mueller, the virologist at Stony Brook. 

versus

The synthesis companies are on the lookout for matches between requested DNA and the genomes of dangerous pathogens. But some experts say such safeguards are hardly airtight. "You could imagine a determined actor could cleverly disguise orders," Dr. Casadevall said. "I have a lot of respect for human ingenuity." 

Do you need gene synthesis to make the next "killer flu" or just a few barnyard animals?

-Chris

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