Library

“The distribution of professionally prepared anthrax spores through the U.S. postal system in the weeks afterwards September 11, 2001, magnified previous concerns by orders of magnitude. In December 2002, after U.S. forces had overrun much of the territory of Afghanistan, it was discovered that the al-Qaida organization also had spent several years trying to obtain  Read More »

“In an effort to encourage productive discussion of [dual-use] and its implications, this monograph discusses an oversight process designed to bring independent scrutiny to bear throughout the world without exception on fundamental research activities that might plausibly generate massively destructive or otherwise highly dangerous consequences. The suggestion is that a mandatory, globally implemented process of  Read More »

“Particularly worrisome, from an economic perspective, is a particular type of bioterrorism: agricultural terrorism. Agroterrorism is defined as attacks against livestock and crops, but this article will focus on livestock-targeted attacks, which, if successful, present a multibillion dollar challenge to the economy of the United States. Agroterrorism is a relatively affordable way for a terrorist  Read More »

“Although the words “biosecurity” and “biosafety” are sometimes used interchangeably, they differ fundamentally in that biosecurity policies counter deliberate attempts to acquire bioweapon capabilities, while biosafety measures prevent accidental infections or release dangerous organisms and toxins. However, some biosecurity measures do overlap with policies on biosafety, agricultural security, biodiversity, and counter-terrorism. Without standardized measures applied  Read More »