Science Fiction Dictionary
A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

 

Russians Fear Targeted Bioweapons, Ban Human Tissue Export

The Russian Federal Customs Service (FSB) has banned the export from the country of all human medical biological materials, from hair to blood samples, as of May 28th. According to the Russian newspaper Kommersant, the ban was prompted by a report submitted to Vladimir Putin that alleges "genetically engineered biological weapons" are under development in the West.

The report was prepared by the FSB after investigation of the medical facilities in Russia that participate in research trials in association with Western pharmaceutical companies and universities.

According to the source, the report thus characterizes the situation in the market for clinical trials: several large Western medical centers that receive shipments of biological materials from Russia are said to be involved in the development of "genetically engineered biological weapons" for use against the Russian population. The list of organizations purportedly working on the project includes the Harvard School of Public Health, the American International Health Alliance, the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the US Department of Justice, the Swedish Karolinska Institute and Agency for International Development, and the Indian Genome Institute. Kommersant's source reported that the report contains a wealth of fantastical details about the development of "ethnically oriented" biological weapons capable of rendering Russia's population sterile and even killing it off.

Many of the institutions named in the report already deny any participation in weapons research. The ban is also being protested by the many Russian institutions that participate in medical testing and research. At present, about 28,000 Russians take part, mostly by agreeing to be test subjects for pharmaceutical companies. The clinical trial market in Russia is worth as much as $150 million annually.

The idea that it might be possible to create bioweapons that are specifically targeted to particular populations has been explored by science fiction writers. Frank Herbert, in his 1982 novel The White Plague, writes about a molecular biologist who loses his wife and family to an IRA bomb, and engineers a plague virus that targets and kills only women.

Update 08-Dec-2023: The earliest mention of the idea of weapons that could be developed to target specific populations is probably the specific gene weapon from The Mannichon Solution (1967) by Irwin Shaw. End update.

More recently, sf writer Greg Bear wrote about the same concerns in his newly released book Quantico. In the novel, investigators become concerned that terrorist organizations are developing bioweapons that target only specific populations. His fictional investigators make use of a hand-held biohazard analyzer called a "WAGD" to detect traces:

She had yet to bring out her WAGD - pronounced Wag-Dee, for Wright Assay Germ Detector - a biohazard analyzer the size and shape of a large magic marker.

...She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a WAGD, hiding most of it in her palm and up her sleeve, then swiftly uncapped it ... and ran the moist gel tip along the inside... She capped and pocketed the device...
(Read more about the WAGD biohazard analyzer.)

This fictional device now has a real-life counterpart - NASA's LOCAD-PTS Handheld Microorganism Detector.

Find out more about the novel that anticipates Russia's concerns in this Interview With Greg Bear on Quantico; read more about the ban at Kommersant.

Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 6/1/2007)

Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.

| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |

Would you like to contribute a story tip? It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add it here.

Comment/Join discussion ( 3 )

Related News Stories - (" Medical ")

Brain Implant Is Able To Capture Your Inner Dialogue
'So you see, you can hide nothing from me.'

'Pregnancy Humanoids' From China Replace Moms
'A great many of these synthetic babies were made...' - David H. Keller, 1928.

Bacteria Turns Plastic Into Pain Relief? That Gives Me An Idea.
'I guess there's nobody round this table who doesn't have a Crosswell [tapeworm] working for him in the small intestine.'

Heart Patches Grown In The Lab Repair Hearts
I'm hoping that this procedure becomes a normal part of medical practice!

 

Google
  Web TechNovelgy.com   

Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.

 

 

 

 

Science Fiction Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's   1950's
1960's   1970's
1980's   1990's
2000's   2010's

Current News

Chrysalis Generation Ship to Alpha Centauri
'This was their world, their planet — this swift-traveling, yet seemingly moveless vessel.'

Alexa+ And Its AI Brain Improvements
'What's it do?' he asked. 'It amuses.'

Does CloneRobotics Offer A True Android?
Is this What Little Girls Are Made Of?

Brain Implant Is Able To Capture Your Inner Dialogue
'So you see, you can hide nothing from me.'

Are AIs Going Rogue Like Hal 9000
'I know that you and Frank were planning to disconnect me...'

Animated Tumblebugs On Astounding Cover!
'Gaines and Harvey mounted tumblebugs, and kept abreast of the Cadet Captain...'

LingYuan Vehicle Roof Drones Now Available, ala Blade Runner 2049
Accompanied by a small selection of similar ideas from science fiction.

China Steals Strato Airship Design From Google App Engine
'...war-balloons, or, as it would be more correct to call them, navigable aerostats.'

The First Space Warship For Space Force
'Each of the electrical ships carried about twenty men...'

Biohybrid Jellyfish Explore The Ocean
As predicted, and detailed, by science fiction writers!

Should AIs and AI Robots Demand Rights?
'This robot is a creature... It is a manlike being. Therefore, like any other talking, thinking man, he is entitled to a court trial!'

Robot Learns Human Tool Usage By Imitation Learning
'I got one of those new electronic cameras...'

Companion Caregiver ChatGPT Dolls
'Every Artificial Friend is unique, right?'

'Pregnancy Humanoids' From China Replace Moms
'A great many of these synthetic babies were made...'

Man Builds 200 Foot Basement Firing Range
'The basement was huge... carved deep into the rock.'

Russians Create Robot Tank Platoons
'The remotely-operated robot tank is an old idea...'

More SF in the News Stories

More Beyond Technovelgy science news stories

Home | Glossary | Invention Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.