Scientists Fear Bioweapons Horror

Scientists are telling the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency that advances in biotechnology could be used to create biological weapons worse than any disease known to humans. A CIA report released Friday, entitled “The Darker Bioweapons Future,” details the fears of respected, independent scientists who met at a conference in January. The report says new genetic engineering technology being used to create cures for disease could also create horrific diseases with no cure. Such weapons could include a “stealth” virus that would lie dormant in a victim for a specific amount of time, or until triggered by the introduction of another, non-lethal substance. Another biotechnology weapon might only attack people who already have a common malady, such as arthritis, thus crippling a nation with an overwhelming medical emergency. The report says traditional methods for guarding against weapons of mass destruction may fail against such threats because they could be virtually impossible to trace to their source. The report does not say which countries or groups might use such bioweapons to threaten the United States. Full Story