Black Swan Tuesday: COA-D - 12-Monkeys

One of the things that keeps 'ole Sal up at night? This simple combo.

The leaders of today's trans-national Islamic extremest movement are not poor, oppressed masses looking for a Section-8 voucher, no. They are highly educated men with a view towards bringing about the end-times as their religion sees it.

They are educated in Western universities, many getting PhD and MD. That is what gets me. You cannot classify math, and science - even when classified - eventually finds its way out.

Some things you cannot assume will be used for good or will be discovered by the charitable at heart;

A powerful new technique for generating “supercharged” genetically modified organisms that can spread rapidly in the wild has caused alarm among scientists who fear that it may be misused, accidentally or deliberately, and cause a health emergency or environmental disaster.

The development of so-called “gene drive” technology promises to revolutionise medicine and agriculture because it can in theory stop the spread of mosquito-borne illnesses, such as malaria and yellow fever, as well as eliminate crop pests and invasive species such as rats and cane toads.

However, scientists at the forefront of the development believe that in the wrong hands gene-drive technology poses a serious threat to the environment and human health if accidentally or deliberately released from a laboratory without adequate safeguards. Some believe it could even be used as a terrorist bio-weapon directed against people or livestock because gene drives – which enable GM genes to spread rapidly like a viral infection within a population – will eventually be easy and cheap to generate.
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“Just as gene drives can make mosquitoes unfit for hosting and spreading the malaria parasite, they could conceivably be designed with gene drives carrying cargo for delivering lethal bacterial toxins to humans,” said David Gurwitz, a geneticist at Tel Aviv University in Israel.
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scientists fear that the ease with which gene drives can be generated will make them a target for any malign individual or organisation with access to modern laboratory equipment.

Have a nice day!