Federation of American Scientists Case Studies in Dual Use Biological Research Module 2.0: Poliovirus Case Study
Topic: Discussion Subtopic: Where to Go for More Information

 
Seeking Security: Pathogens, Open Access, and Genome Databases (Introduction)
 
The revolution in the life sciences that began to take shape in the 20th century is no longer a promise; it is happening now.  The major technologies catalyzing this revolution are sequencing of the entire genetic codes of organisms (including humans), mapping of genome variability between individuals of a species, and microarray technology that allows observation and analysis of genome-wide patterns of gene activity under different conditions.  All those technologies allow the rapid analysis of the entire repertoire of proteins and other macromolecules produced by a cell, and they have generated very large biological databases and associated analytic software tools. Those and other advances now allow life scientists to assemble the mass of new data into an accurate and detailed way to reach the goal of understanding how organisms function.
 
 
For full article: [http://www.nap.edu/openbook/0309093058/html/15.html]
 
 
The Darker Bioweapons Future
 

The genomic revolution is pushing biotechnology into an explosive growth phasethe resulting wave front of knowledge will evolve rapidly and be so broad, complex, and widely available to the public that traditional intelligence means for monitoring WMD development could prove inadequate to deal with the threat from these advanced biological weapons.

  
 
For full article: [http://www.fas.org/irp/cia/product/bw1103.pdf]

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