Laboratory freezers serve as repositories for all sorts of biological agents that could have devastating impact on public health.

We ran across this rather cryptic set of slides concerning the “Controlling Dangerous Pathogens Project,” and we were intrigued.  It briefly alludes to the philosophical, practical, economic, and scientific elements of biological research into potentially hazardous organisms.  Of particular interest is “dual-use research,” which may be (sincerely or otherwise) designed to advance the state of knowledge, but may also result in the intentional or unintentional creation of bioweapons.  Does it make a difference to the infected people if a pathogen was accidentally released from a laboratory freezer or intentionally introduced into the water supply?

For further information visit www.cissm.umd.edu.

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