From: hal@finney.org
Date: Mon Aug 07 2000 - 10:41:02 MDT
John Clark writes re inserting Ebola genes into common cold viruses:
> I haven't heard any protests from the anti genetics people, I guess they're too
> busy protecting the world from killer tomatoes, but I got to tell you this scares
> the hell out of me. I'm sure they took elaborate precautions to prevent this thing from
> getting out, but holly shit! Imagine a virus that's airborn and as contagious as the
> common cold, that has no vaccine or any other treatment, and kills 90% of those
> infected in less than 48 hours in a manner gruesome enough for any horror movie.
> I sure hope there is something about this experiment I don't understand.
I think the problem with this specific scenario is that the modified
cold virus would kill the host before becoming infective enough to spread
itself widely. Colds make people emit a lot of mucus, sneeze and cough
to spread themselves, but it takes a while for this to happen.
Hal
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