11 Pathogens Pose Big Security Risk For Research

sciencehabit writes "A United States federal panel of scientists and security experts has identified 11 microorganisms that it wants designated as Tier 1 select agents, a new category of biological agents that would be subject to higher security standards than other pathogens and toxins used in biomedical research. The category would include anthrax, Ebola, Variola major and Variola minor (the two viruses that cause small pox), the Marburg virus, the virus that causes foot and mouth disease, and bacterial strains that produce the botulinum neurotoxin. At the same time, the panel has recommended dropping 19 pathogens and six toxins from the broader list of 82 agents that are currently governed by the select agent program."

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Ronald Reagan - "Facts are stupid things"

[camperslo]

When the Symbionese Liberation Army kidnapped Patty Hearst in Berkeley and demanded the distribution of food to the poor, Reagan joked, "It's just too bad we can't have an epidemic of botulism."

Let's hope that governments and others don't do much with those nasties.

Reagan quote is from The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California). March 14, 1974

Re:Ronald Reagan - "Facts are stupid things"

[Anonymous Coward]

Explain why life was so good in Reagan's America, then.

Because he traded short term economic gain for long term economic stability. Reagan is the president who began dismantling Depression-era regulations on the banking and finance industries. That resulted in a short term boost. This trend continued (and thus the blame doesn't fall squarely on Reagan's shoulders) and resulted in the S&L Crisis, the .com Bubble, the real estate bubble, and the resulting Great Recession.

Reagan's policies may have been good for you living during those times, but they've been a fucking disaster for those of us who had to graduate college and work through the past decade.