Friday, August 1, 2008

Mad Scientist's Test of Anthrax Cure Terrifies Nation

Well, maybe. We may never know, now that the latest top anthrax letter suspect, Bruce E. Ivins, is dead.

"...Authorities were investigating whether Ivins, who had complained about the limits of testing anthrax drugs on animals, had released the toxin to test the treatment on humans...." is the way "Suspect in anthrax-letter deaths kills himself" put it (Associated Press (August 1, 2008)). The article points out that if the FBI closes the "Amerithrax" investigation in the next few days, that means that they think that Ivins was the only one involved.

We'll see.

The 'mad scientist' scenario isn't all that crazy. Bruce E. Ivins had been working on an anthrax vaccine that might work, even if different strains of anthrax were mixed. Existing vaccines won't do that.

If the Ivins Vaccine had been effective, it would have been a breakthrough.

Given his documented frustration with society's refusal to recognize the requirements of genius, Ivins may have broadcast anthrax through the mail in an effort to Advance Science.

Sure: it's the stuff of B-movie science fiction. But that doesn't mean it couldn't happen.

In the news:
  • "Suspect in anthrax-letter deaths kills himself"
    Associated Press (August 1, 2008)
  • "Two sides of scientist emerge after suicide"
    CNN (August 1, 2008)
    • "FREDERICK, Maryland (CNN) -- Friends say a scientist who killed himself amid an anthrax investigation fit many stereotypes, but biological terrorist was not one of them.
    • "People who knew Bruce Ivins recall a friendly, helpful man whose neighbors had no reason to suspect him of wrongdoing; an eternal graduate student with ill-fitting clothes and an awkward social manner; an apolitical egghead too busy with his work to carry out the crimes the FBI suspected him of.
    • "But, in addition to authorities investigating the 2001 deadly anthrax attacks, at least one person had a more sinister perception of Ivins: He was scheduled to appear in court Thursday after a woman accused him of stalking her...."
More, about the latest chapter of the FBI and the "Amerithrax" case: "Anthrax Suspect Dies as FBI Approach: Case Closed?" (August 1, 2008)
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1 comment:

Cooper said...

I'm not so certain on this. As I wrote in a mild not too serious post you can't tell me the government had a man with a history of mental instability working for them on weapons of mass destruction without knowing it an did they did that is even crazier.

This is our local new story.

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?storyID=78270

August 2, 2008 at 12:11 AM

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Note! Although I believe that these websites and blogs are useful resources for understanding the War on Terror, I do not necessarily agree with their opinions. 1 1 Given a recent misunderstanding of the phrase "useful resources," a clarification: I do not limit my reading to resources which support my views, or even to those which appear to be accurate. Reading opinions contrary to what I believed has been very useful at times: sometimes verifying my previous assumptions, sometimes encouraging me to change them.

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