Biological Weapons
Biological weapons are organisms or their by-products used to deliberately spread disease. They include bacteria, viruses, rickettsiae, protozoa, fungi, and their toxins. The effects of biological warfare agents are diverse, but they generally incapacitate or kill their victims or destroy crops or livestock.
Biological weapons, or bioweapons for short, are devices that spread pathogens to sicken or kill an enemy. The threat of the worst pathogens has earned bioweapons a reputation as "the poor man's atom bomb." The prospect of bioweapons in the hands of terrorists alarms governments, scientists, and citizens. Many skeptics…>> (read more)
Biological Weapons in the News
Byline: David Perlman
The University of California lost its bid Wednesday to build a huge new biodefense lab where scientists would study highly dangerous microbes at the…>> (read more)
Byline: Mark Morford
Microwave your sponge, kill bacteria dead. Note: Does not yet work on people. Or life.
Is it over yet? Is there some…>> (read more)
Byline: Keay Davidson
Plans for a controversial second biodefense laboratory at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory moved closer to realization Wednesday, when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security…>> (read more)
