The creation of a contagious H5N1 influenza virus: implications for the education of life scientists

The paper contends that the ongoing controversy surrounding the creation of a contagious H5N1 influenza virus has already exposed the severe limitations of the possibility of preventing the hostile misuse of the life sciences by dint of oversight of proposals and publications. It further argues that in order to prevent the potential wholesale militarisation of the life sciences, it is essential that life scientists become aware of their responsibilities within the context of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) and actively contribute their expertise to strengthening the biological weapons non-proliferation regime.Publisher PD

Preventing the development and use of biological weapons in the 21st century: ethics, life scientists and the role of next British government

Just as the information technology revolution profoundly affected the 20th Century, so biotechnology, with its growing capacity to enable humankind to understand and manipulate the fundamental life processes, looks set to have a significant impact on the 21st Century. It offers great benefits, giving a potential means of responding to societal challenges, such as those related to illness, hunger, poverty and energy. Yet at the same time, it is also generating a range of direct and indirect technological advances which in combination, could increase the strategic utility of biological weapons and hence increase the likelihood that such weapons will be incorporated into the military arsenals of states (and perhaps also of terrorist groups) in the 21st Century. This essay outlines a number of practical steps that the next British Government could undertake to sustain the UK's leading role in responding to the global challenge of biological weapons in the 21st Century. It begins by highlighting salient changes in both science and security that have potentially enhanced the prospects for the incorporation of biological weapons. It then underlines the crucial importance of engaging with life scientists on their ethical responsibilities, at a time when the challenge of biological weapons cannot be dealt with by governments alone, but rather requires activity at a range of different levels from the 'individual to the international'. In this connection, it examines the role (and limits) of ethics, awareness raising and education. Finally, this essay concludes with a set of recommendations which could be undertaken by governments and individuals as part of an effort to prevent the exploitation of biotechnology in warfare in the 21st Century

Abordando la problemática de las armas biológicas en el siglo XXI: el papel de una web de prevención 2.0

El uso estratégico de la enfermedad en la guerra ha demostrado ser una amenaza para la humanidad desde hace mucho tiempo; sin embargo, la naturaleza cambiante tanto de la ciencia como de la seguridad tiene, al combinarse,, el potencial idóneo para estimular la adopción de nuevas (y clásicas) armas biológicas. Este breve artículo se inicia con la descripción de algunos de estos cambios antes de considerar los medios y las medidas establecidas para hacer frente al desafío de las armas biológicas. Posteriormente, se procederá a delinear una Web de Prevención 2,0, compuesta por hebras que se refuerzan mutuamente, con la que se pretende formar un marco para un enfoque más holístico que sirva para hacer frente al desafío de las armas biológicas en el siglo XXI