Re: idiots walk among us

Keith F. Lynch <kfl@KeithLynch.net> wrote:

Mike Van Pelt <usenet@mikevanpelt.com> wrote:

Nobody gets vaccinated against smallpox any more, since the virus
is extinct.  In the wild.  I grimly await some (long string of
weapons-grade expletives) to break that out of the freezer and
inflict it on the world again.

>
That may not be the only way it can happen.  At a book signing I asked
James Watson if a terrorist could synthesize smallpox, given that its
complete genome is in the open literature.  He said no, but he looked
very uncomfortable when answering, so I'm skeptical.

It's more than just one big protein, so yeah, it's not going to be an
easy job for a terrorist to do.  It might be easier to find some in a
freezer somewhere.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."