The Bubonic Plague to be resurected

[Halcyon Daze]

Will 'The Black Death' one day be available on the black markets like anthrax?

Scientists have sequenced the DNA of the Bubonic Plague and hope to reconstruct the organism for research purposes.

"The researchers hope eventually to modify a living plague bacterium so that its genome is identical to that of the agent of the Black Death."

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/13/science/13plague.html

Edited October 13, 2011 by Halcyon Daze

[CβL]

But even if it did infect a person, the bacterium would be susceptible to antibiotics, like its living descendants, said Hendrik Poinar of McMaster University, a team member.

phew.

[El Presidente Hillbillios]

Smallpox would be a bigger worry. I'm pretty sure it is still around in small outbreaks in africa too. wouldnt be hard to bring that one back and cause some really dramas.

[Auxin]

I regard worries about bioterrorism armageddon as little more than the neuroticism of the war criminal states.

We've had biological warfare for thousands of years and its rarely been used, but theres an interesting pathology in the minds of the criminal. When someone commits a crime they know to have gone beyond any rational limit to human behavior they often become obsessed with the fear that someone else, ie. their 'enemy', could be just as much of a monster and commit just as hideous of atrocities. The US went nuts with paranoia after we nuked two japanese cities, the israelis went nuts with paranoia after they began ethnically cleansing palestine, saddam went nuts after he used (american) gas to wipe out kurds, many people went nuts with fear when slaves were freed in america. In all these instances the frantic fear was mostly unfounded. Its just part of the insanity of the war criminal. I'd me more afraid of what might be done by people with an irrational fear of ________ (insert evil enemy scenario) than the miniscule chance of those scenarios happening.

Over all heart disease and drunk drives scare me far more than imaginary terrorism threats.

[El Presidente Hillbillios]

Im kinda hoping for a Z virus outbreak