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cover of episode What if Terrorists Could Weaponize Covid?

What if Terrorists Could Weaponize Covid?

2023/4/7
logo of podcast Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford
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Michael Specter
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Tim Harford：东京地铁沙林毒气袭击与新冠疫情的对比，突显了生物恐怖主义的潜在威胁，以及合成生物学技术可能造成的巨大危害。他强调了需要对合成生物学技术进行更严格的监管和风险评估，以防止其被滥用。 Michael Specter：从1976年剑桥市议会关于哈佛大学建造生物实验室的会议谈起，回顾了公众对重组DNA技术以及其他生物技术的担忧，以及这些担忧如何随着技术的进步而演变。他分析了Paul Berg的实验以及公众的反应，指出当时人们对重组DNA技术的担忧虽然有些夸大，但并非完全没有道理。他认为，合成生物学技术既有巨大的潜力，例如研发疫苗、替代塑料和制造清洁能源等，也有潜在的风险，例如被用于制造生物武器。他讨论了David Evans合成马痘病毒以及Robert Arnon发现新的肉毒杆菌毒素但未公开其信息的事件，指出目前缺乏对合成生物学技术的有效监管，需要改变现有的规则，在鼓励创新和防止滥用之间取得平衡。他建议加强国际合作，改进个人防护装备，对DNA的订购和DNA打印机进行监管，以应对生物恐怖主义的威胁。他还讨论了挑战性试验以及如何改进疫苗研发和应用流程。最后，他展望了未来20年合成生物学技术可能在癌症疫苗、自身免疫疾病治疗等方面取得的突破，并强调了需要就合成生物学技术的伦理和安全问题进行公开讨论，并制定相应的规范和准则。

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The episode discusses the potential for small extremist groups to create and release a virus like Covid, which could lead to millions of deaths, drawing parallels to the historical sarin gas attack in Tokyo.

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Cautionary Conversation: In 1990, a small extremist group launched a nerve gas attack on passengers riding the Tokyo subway. Thousands of people were hurt, more than a dozen died. At the time, such use of a chemical weapon seemed new and uniquely terrifying.

But advances in biology mean that today it's possible such a group could create a virus like Covid... with the potential to kill millions. What are the dangers and what can we do to combat them? Tim Harford talks to writer Michael Specter about his new book* Higher Animals: Vaccines, Synthetic Biology and the Future of Life*.

(Higher Animals: Vaccines, Synthetic Biology and the Future of Life is is available now at Pushkin.fm), Audible), or wherever audiobooks are sold.) 

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