“Limits on Access to Germ Research”

1. “Limits on Access to Germ Research” The New York Times www.nytimes.com Ryan Cragle November 29, 2001

2. “Industrial” Effects of Bioterrorism • Heightened Airport Security • Travel and tourism-based business decrease • Different Proposals for Postal Handling • International Business and Trade down

3. Genome Mapping • Genome: the complete compliment of an organism’s genes • Mostly known through the Human Genome Project, which began in 1990 • The United States: main financial candidate to sequence genomes • Need to research beyond Human Genome • National Human Genome Research Institute reserves right to decide

4. Microbial Genomes • Benefits of Research and Mapping • Anti-microbial Treatments: • More efficient nucleotide analogs and enzyme inhibitors • More efficient inhibition of protein synthesis

5. Benefits of Mapping Microbial Genomes • Aids in countering agents of biological warfare • Identification of pathogen

6. Summary of Article • Bioterrorism threat to science research • President Bush: International Code of Ethical Conduct • Restriction of published genomes

7. Proposed Restrictions • No foreign researchers • No genome publication of known biological weapons • No publication of genome that can increase the severity of a known weapon • No publication of genome of a microbe that can be used as a weapon of war

8. Researchers’ Hesitations • Institute for Genomic Research: synthetic microogranism to study evolution • Australia researchers: created resistant strain of mouse pox • Iowa State: destroyed it large collection of anthrax strains

9. Scientists’ Fears • Do not want to release the “blueprint” that can be used to create the next line of biological weapons.

10. Unanswered Questions • Who would enforce this ethical code of scientists? • What are the effects of not publishing these genomes? • Who determines what is a “safe” genome to publish and what elements categorize an unsafe genome? • What right does the government possess to restrict foreign researchers from micro- bial lab work?

11. References • The New York Times. www.nytimes.com • The Scientist. www.the-scientist.com • Campbell, Biology, 5th ed.