The Doctor Is In

Several weeks ago, I penned a fictional scenario of a bioterrorism attack on New York. Perhaps it seemed far-fetched to some — even most — but truth can prove scarier than fiction. John Robb at Global Guerrillas points us to an essay discussing the ease with which biogenetic engineering can be done today — it is well within the capabilities of those with very limited expertise in genetic engineering. Take a few minutes to read Biowar for Dummies:

Experts used to think that distributing a killer germ would require a few vats and a crop duster. Brent and I have a different idea. We’ll infect a suicidal patient zero and hand him a round-the-world plane ticket. But we need a dangerous virus—smallpox, maybe. We won’t be able to steal a sample; we’ll have to make our own.

Suitcase nukes are the stuff of 24, and likely do not exist at all. Bio-engineered terrorism, however, is coming to a city near you, before very long at all.

But not to worry — there’s a new season of Project Runway underway, and Oprah’s on the campaign trail …