Biological warfare is a serious issue that we have to work now to prevent because if and when this situation ever arouse we would be in serious trouble and millions could die or be effected, first we have to understand what a biological weapon is and why we are so scared of them. What are the dangers? Where did they start and where are we going with this technology? These are all questions in which I will be answering to the best of my ability; this is a very diverse issue with many components. Overall, my opinion on BW is that of one to be prepared and when needed fight fire with fire. If we are to be threated then we need to be able to threaten back and if there was ever a moment where we needed to initialize a biological weapon to protect our country from imminent dangers than we need to have them and be able to effectively use them in a manner in which we could say that would not have adverse effects on anyone but the intended recipients. Biological weapons are anything that can contain a living organism or viruses that are harmful to animals, plants or humans. These BW (biological weapons) are used as an act of war in extreme cases. Normally this type of warfare is used to get an advantage over your opponent. The scare of the possibility of someone who is capable of wiping out nearly your entire population in one fail swoop is enough most of the time to have a negotiation to resolve the issues you were having that caused things to get to BW. There are many dangers to BW, including but not exclusive to death, mass casualties, infection of our food and natural resources. This is a very scary topic seeing that we could fall victim to BW and not know until it is too late and we start showing signs. One of the first well known u... ... middle of paper ... ... are able to better predict what we need to do to keep our beautiful country safe. With our new counteractive technologies, trained personnel, specialized units for response and launch pads to destroy bombs before they hit our land I feel safe, but there is always the unknown and the possibilities of what could be invented next. So we have to pay attention and be one step ahead of terrorists, criminals and enemy countries. Works Cited American Medical Association. (1997, August 6). Why Should We Be Concerned About BiologicalWarfare?. CDC.gov. Retrieved January 18, 2014, from http://www2a.cdc.gov/nip/isd/spoxclincian/contents Noonan, M. (2013, June 14). What a Smaller Defense Budget Looks Like. US News. Retrieved January 18, 2014, from http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/world-report/2013/06/14/think-tanks-on-american-national-defense-budgeting-and-capabilities
This summer we had an opportunity to dive into the world of bioweapons, through Richard Preston’s novel The Demon in the Freezer. His book explored the colorful world of smallpox and its use as a biological weapon. Earlier this week we were graced with this authors present for an ACES event. He discussed some of the found topics in his book such as animal testing, what small pox is, and even its eradication. One of the great things we had the chance of vocalizing were our many opinions on the gloom associated with this intriguing disease.
Guillemin, J. (2005). Biological weapons: From the invention of state-sponsored programs to contemporary bioterrorism Columbia University Press.
Though biological weapons have been available for under a century, there is a long history of their use between 1914 and 1972. Chemical warfare was first introduced in 1914 at the beginning of World War I. Because of the new style of warfare with automatic weapons, trenches were dug out from the ground to defend against a slaughter. The introduction of this issue caused us to invent weapons such as the grenade, flame thrower, and finally, biological weapons. Biological weapons were distributed by hoses, grenades, and aerial attacks. By doing this, we eliminated many enemy trenches and saved a large amount of Ally lives. (Menace)
"Cost of National Security." National Priorities Project. National Priorities Project, n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2014.
The American Revolution was started in 18th century based on the political, social and economical reasons in the thirteen colonies. The colonists discovered the United States of America by refusing the nobility and monarchy of the Great Britain. During the Revolution, an epidemic disease called smallpox was spread devastatingly and frequently. Smallpox was an enormously contagious disease caused by a specific type of virus variola which spread into the thirteen American colonies. The disease was new in the country to take place in Boston, Massachussetts first and by spreading the virus made a severe threat all over. It began with infection mainly in the blood vessels of the human skin and mouth, resulted in different kinds of symptoms for
Throughout the progression of mankind, there has always been a need to become superior in tactics and technology over an opponent. It did not take long for man to discover the effective and deadly tactic of Bioterrorism, which is the deliberate release of viruses, bacteria or other germs used to cause illness or death in people, animals, or plants. As time passes, everything about bioterrorism becomes more and more sophisticated, making it very difficult to combat with. By examining the history of bioterrorism, one can learn how military forces utilize this deadly weapon.
Ryan, Jeffrey R., and Jan F. Glarum. Biosecurity & Bioterrorism: Containing and Preventing Biological Threats. Oxford: Elsevier Inc., 2008.
Although the Columbian Exchange allowed for the beneficial exchange of cultures, ideas, foods, and animals around the world during the 1450-1750 time period, it also had a dark side. One detrimental result of the Columbian Exchange would be the spreading of smallpox from Europe to the New World.
In a world where people rush to purchase lottery tickets in the hopes of hitting a jackpot worth a few million, these expenditures are incomprehensible and may seem excessive; however, not everyone feels this way. In an article found on the U.S. Department of Defense’s website, the “DoD has done its best to manage through this prolonged period of budget uncertainty, the secretary said, making painful choices and tradeoffs” and that in “today’s security environment we need to be dynamic and we need to be responsive. What we have now is a straitjacket” (Pellerin, 2015). At the end of the day, it is all about who is being asked whether the defense budget is excessive; for those that do not feel an imminent threat is looming, the budget would seem over-the-top, but for those that either feel that a threat is imminent, or those working in the defense sector, would most likely be in favor of sustaining the current budget or increasing it. Furthermore, another topic to look at is how the United States compares with other countries on defense spending and is the difference validated?
With the use of chemical weapons will come new diseases and sicknesses that the world will not have an antidote or cure. “Not all chemical weapons kill, many of them cause sickness and pain to immobilize the victims.” According to ThinkQuest, in some cases there is bacteria in chemical weapons to create a reaction. These bacteria could spread and would cause more harm than good. Some of these new viruses will not have cures and could cause genetic mutations, which then would be passed on to offspring spreading it even farther.
Before we start, what exactly is a biological substance? As defined in Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary (Biological, 2014) Biological means of or relating to life and living things. Since the beginning of time there have been biological substances. Think of the flu virus in the early 1900’s, it killed thousands of people. The pathogens that make up this virus multiplied over and over until eventually there was an uncontrollable epidemic throughout the United States (Steinbruner, 1997). Many of us think that the influenza virus was an epidemic that will never happen again but then came other biological agents such as smallpox and the deadly anthrax virus. We’ve come to the realization now that biological substances are the weapons of choice. Yes we do have nuclear and chemical weapons that threaten our society, but these weapons aren’t alive. We must pay greater attention to certain toxins that Americans are injecting into their bodies on a daily basis.
Bacterial cells, like plant cells, are surrounded by a cell wall. However, bacterial cell walls are made up of polysaccharide chains linked to amino acids, while plant cell walls are made up of cellulose, which contains no amino acids. Many bacteria secrete a slimy capsule around the outside of the cell wall. The capsule provides additional protection for the cell. Many of the bacteria that cause diseases in animals are surrounded by a capsule. The capsule prevents the white blood cells and antibodies from destroying the invading bacterium. Inside the capsule and the cell wall is the cell membrane. In aerobic bacteria, the reactions of cellular respiration take place on fingerlike infoldings of the cell membrane. Ribosomes are scattered throughout the cytoplasm, and the DNA is generally found in the center of the cell. Many bacilli and spirilla have flagella, which are used for locomotion in water. A few types of bacteria that lack flagella move by gliding on a surface. However, the mechanism of this gliding motion is unknown. Most bacteria are aerobic, they require free oxygen to carry on cellular respiration. Some bacteria, called facultatibe anaerobes can live in either the presence or absence of free oxygen. They obtain energy either by aerobic respiration when oxygen is present or by fermentation when oxygen is absent. Still other bacteria cannot live in the presence of oxygen. These are called obligate anaerobes. Such bacteria obtain energy only fermentation. Through fermentation, different groups of bacteria produce a wide variety of organic compounds. Besides ethyl alcohol and lactic acid, bacterial fermentation can produce acetic acid, acetone, butyl alcohol, glycol, butyric acid, propionic acid, and methane, the main component of natural gas. Most bacteria are heterotrophic bacteria are either saprophytes or parasites. Saprophytes feed on the remains of dead plants and animals, and ordinarily do not cause disease. They release digestive enzymes onto the organic matter. The enzymes breakdown the large food molecules into smaller molecules, which are absorbed by the bacterial cells. Parasites live on or in living organisms, and may cause disease. A few types of bacteria are Autotrophic, they can synthesize the organic nutrients they require from inorganic substances. Autotrophic bacteria are either photosynthetic or Chemosynthetic. The photosynthetic bacteria contain chlorophyll that are different from the plant chlorophyll. In bacterial photosynthesis, hydrogen is obtained by the splitting of compounds other than water.
In conclusion, it is clear that a biological weapon is wrong. When Saddam Hussein threatened to turn the Persian Gulf War into “the mother of all wars” the world shook with the possible implications. The United States managed to divert the course of the war such as this did not happen. In other situation these results have not been as successful, unfortunately, and many people have suffered and died. I hope that civilization is moving towards total illumination of biological weaponry.
Koba, M. (2011, November 3). Gross Domestic Product: CNBC Explains. Retrieved from CNBC: EXPLAINS: http://www.cnbc.com/id/44505017
...ing the expanding seriousness of the malady, it is additionally getting to be more hazardous in nature. Numerous components have been distinguished for this example of the infection. Some of them incorporate an absence of political will to anticipate and control the illness, lack of stores to execute preventive systems, inaccessibility of channeled water supply, expand in worldwide travel, and the absence of successful strong waste administration supporting the unchecked development of the larval habitats.