This article was taken from the February 2014 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
Fetchez la vache! Non-native (or invasive) forms of animal species could be used as a new biological weapon. "The invasive can be used to destroy crop yields of major food crops -- wheat, for example -- or lumber commodities, or farm animals. Think of mad cow disease, but worse," says Lawrence Roberge, a researcher at Labouré
College, Boston, who has published papers on the topic in the Journal of Biosafety. "It could bring new diseases into ecosystems or destroy native species in them -- and introduce zoonotic diseases ready to be unleashed to humans." Weaponising animals could be cheaper, and technologically easier, than other WMDs. It would also be easier to evade detection, with perpetrators leaving invasive species to spread through a population. Roberge urges preventative action, including setting up a database of organisms to control such interlopers, along with biomonitoring and border patrols. "We must keep vigilant against genetically engineered organisms."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
