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"Individual science fiction stories may seem as trivial as ever to the blinder critics and philosophers of today -- but the core of science fiction, its essence has become crucial to our salvation if we are to be saved at all."
- Isaac Asimov

Designed Bacteria  
  Very early reference to the idea of bacteria designed to wipe out a particular species, and no others.  

In this novel of a far-future Earth, an unlikely invader has come to challenge the remnants of humanity. A single spore has seeded and grown; its progeny capture one man - and learn from him. And release him to infect others.

Zar is able to gasp out this warning.

"...Keep power flowing in the purification generators if you can! ...those plants! Their approach to problems is different from our own. No metals. No machines as we know them. But in hidden compartments in their tissues it was easy for them to create the bacteria of death! They invented those bacteria, and grew them, breaking them away from their own substance. Some way, when I was captive, I was infected. The thorns on the tendrils that held me! I was the carrier!
Technovelgy from Seeds of the Dusk, by Raymond Z. Gallun.
Published by Astounding Stories in 1937
Additional resources -

This engineered plague is not only virulent, but insidious in its effects:

During its incipient stages the poisons of it seem actually to stimulate mental and physical activity, giving a treacherous impression of robust health.

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Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from Seeds of the Dusk
  More Ideas and Technology by Raymond Z. Gallun
  Tech news articles related to Seeds of the Dusk
  Tech news articles related to works by Raymond Z. Gallun

Designed Bacteria-related news articles:
  - EDSAP Wearable Stroke Detection

Articles related to Biology
Lunar Biorepository Proposed For Cryo-Preservation Of Earth Species
Let's Make Slaver Sunflowers! Engineering Plants To Reflect Light
Machete-Wielding Philodendron Isn't Going To Take It Anymore
Tsunami Forecasts Improved By Ionosphere Signals

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Science Fiction in the News

LLM 'Cognitive Core' Now Evolving
'Their only check on the growth and development of Vulcan 3 lay in two clues: the amount of rock thrown up to the surface... and the amount of the raw materials and tools and parts which the computer requested.'

Has Elon Musk Given Up On Mars?
'There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.'

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'I guess there's nobody round this table who doesn't have a Crosswell [tapeworm] working for him in the small intestine.'

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'So the parent drone carries a spotter that it launches...'

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'...nurse drones that would cruise around dumping large amounts of power into randomly selected pods.'

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'It's done with a flip of the third joint of the tentacle on the down beat.'

Is China Mining Helium-3 On The Moon's Farside?
'...for months Grantline bores had dug into the cliff.'

Maybe It's Too Soon To Require Autonomous Mode
'I hope all those other cars are on automatic,' he said anxiously.

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'It’s smart enough to go wrong in very complicated ways, but not smart enough to help us find out what’s wrong.'

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