The first thing I think of when I hear bacteria and viruses
are never good, anytime someone hears bacteria or virus they think of being
sick. When I was in high school my teacher after explaining what they were told
us the real threat in the world isn’t going to be war, famine, no it will be a
biological or chemical warfare, either manufactured or natural. Think of it
throughout history typhoid, influenza, it caused a time in history only could
be known as the dark ages for a reason. The black plague of 1347 was a
testament to the devastation of biological catastrophe. In the article I read
it explained why scientists need to invest more time into and put a stop into
weaponizeing certain microorganisms. Steven block writes and explains why these
catastrophic past diseases should only be talked about in the past. However he
goes on to explain how it is nothing like that, these nightmares are on our
front doorstep unless we do something.
The author thoroughly explains diseases throughout his
entire argument, introducing anthrax as a major concern addressing the
strengths and weaknesses of the disease and how it could be weaponized to cause
catastrophe. The author however doesn’t address a solution, he constantly
addresses the problems of warfare but all he poses is “Scientists should
concern themselves before it’s too late” he does make a compelling conclusion,
relying on biologist to stand up against corporations wanting to exploit
microorganisms for warfare, however in all of his research he never addressed
the opposing sides for biological weaponry, many people believe we should
exploit biology before someone else does, in order to address this
controversial topic we have to address that mentality. All in all the argument
was really good however, he must address this opposing views to this topic in
order to make a successful debate.
Article: www.americanscientist.org/issues/feature/2001/1/the-growing-threat-of-biological-weapons/10
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ReplyDeleteThis will be my second response to a "microbes as a weapon" blog. The first blog I responded to on this subject was about bioterrorism and for some reason this topic really intrigues me. I mean, using what our bodies has inside of us as weapons? To me, that is definitely something to be talked about. Using microbes as a weapon can really be a scary thing for us as a country/people and for other countries. At least once every few years I hear on the news of anthrax being delivered to people or corporations. It makes you think of how things like this are produced and who leaked that kind of information right? On this argument I am kind of in the middle. I agree with Steven that these “weapons” are out there on our front door step and only we can do something about them. I think scientists should definitely concern themselves on this situation, but I also think a lot of them do. In my opinion it’s kind of a “Tragedy of the Commons” aspect. Do we want to exploit this possibly deadly information? Or should we wait and just see how it plays out in the long run? In my opinion I think this kind of microorganisms information will always be out there but let’s just hope it gets used for good use and not bad.
ReplyDelete-Angelo V.
I know about bioterrorism and I think one of the students wrote something about this also. But it is the most effective way to start a war or to do mass damage. The government can't track your findings and also by the time they do, they can't find an immunity or cure in order to stop the attack. It's scary to think that such methods can be used at almost no cost or retaliation. In my opinion, the government needs to inform its people about these dangers and also start preparing for attacks in case they ever come up.
ReplyDeleteI found your blog post to be really interesting. I think that since science will always be advancing this type of dilemma is inevitable. Scientists should be exploring all different types of bio-engineered weapons to prepare a way to neutralize them.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you that the author’s argument would be much stronger if he would have provided some possible solutions to these problems. I also really like the fact that you mentioned the Plague of 1348. This was of course a great example of just how deadly bacteria-induced disease can be. It reminds me of the time when I learned about the Spanish Flu in my Anatomy and Physiology class in high school, which of course claimed the lives of millions from 1918 to 1920.
ReplyDeleteI think that disease as a weapon, or using biology as a weapon is just as dangerous as a gun, or anything else. Same with nuclear weapons. The people who learn more about these diseases, and create cures and analyze it, know exactly what the disease is capable of. They have already studied the microbes, and make a living off of that. I'm sure many of them know how the "system" works, how to manipulate, or use biology as a weapon. It's the same with bio-terrorism, or it could be. Though the people who know about this might not use it against anyone, they have a the capability of it, and that's not something anyone can avoid. In the wrong hands, it would be very dangerous. This article is very interesting, and I think more biologists should stand up (maybe even get the government involved more) to scientists trying to use these microbes as a weapon in war. Once one country starts bombing another, then all the other countries do the same. So if microbes are used as a weapon in one country, it will only backfire.
ReplyDeleteNice job of generating discussion on this topic!
ReplyDeleteYou did a nice job analyzing the argument in this blog. An effective argument does look at the counterpoint as well.
ReplyDelete