Mad Scientists Creating Monsters?
Just how easy is it to make a deadly virus?
This disturbing question has been on the minds of many scientists recently, thanks to a pair of controversial experiments in which the H5N1 bird flu virus was transformed into mutant forms that spread among mammals…
Over the past decade, more amateur biologists have started to do genetic experiments of their own. One hub of this so-called D.I.Y. biology movement, the Web site DIYbio.org, now has more than 2,000 members.
Read more from Carl Zimmer on the recreation of mutant viruses in The New York Times.
Almost as bad as sane scientists creating monsters.
Just a matter of time until something gets snuck out of a lab, it looks like.
Drs. Jekyll and Frankenstein illustrate the dangers of experimentation. They probably should submitted their proposed research for review to the ethicists on the Human Subjects Experimentation Review Board.
I read an article in the New York Times that discussed drug research 50 years ago. One retired drug researcher described how they used to experiment on themselves to see if the psychotropic drugs they were working on had the effects they were looking for.
While I share the worry about bioengineering deadly pathogens, this research is vital. Deadly diseases like H5N1 are most dangerous during the incubation period, when mutations form. The benefits of mitigating a deadly bird-flu mutation outweigh the risks of mad scientists.
Interesting, Devon. The fact that they were willing to test their own, personally-created psychotropic drugs is actually somewhat honorable. It shows that they had faith in their product and weren’t simply going to pass the risk off to a guinea pig.