Difference between revisions of "Biological weapon"
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| − | '''Biological weapons''' are infectious or toxic agents used in warfare. They are banned under the Biological Weapons Convention of 1975<ref>http://www.unog.ch/80256EE600585943/%28httpPages%29/04FBBDD6315AC720C1257180004B1B2F?OpenDocument</ref> but some countries still have stocks of them. Biological weapons have | + | '''Biological weapons''' are infectious or toxic agents used in warfare. They are banned under the Biological Weapons Convention of 1975<ref>http://www.unog.ch/80256EE600585943/%28httpPages%29/04FBBDD6315AC720C1257180004B1B2F?OpenDocument</ref> but some countries still have stocks of them. Biological weapons have the potential of a deadly threat against [[civilian]] [[population]]s. |
==History== | ==History== | ||
Revision as of 20:40, April 3, 2020
Biological weapons are infectious or toxic agents used in warfare. They are banned under the Biological Weapons Convention of 1975[1] but some countries still have stocks of them. Biological weapons have the potential of a deadly threat against civilian populations.
History
Smallpox may have been used as a biological weapon in North America in the 18th century.[2] During World War II Britain conducted experiments with anthrax as a biological weapon on Gruinard Island, Scotland.[3] Anthrax was used in a terrorist attack on American citizens in 2001.
China
China agreed to the Biological Weapons Convention in 1984, but both academics and government agencies have asserted that the regime is a world leader in bioweapon production.[4]
James Giordano, a neurology professor at Georgetown University and senior fellow in biowarfare at the U.S. Special Operations Command, said China’s growing investment in bio-science, looser ethics around gene-editing and other cutting-edge technology and integration between government and academia raise the spectre of deadly pathogens being weaponized.[5] In a 2015 academic paper Dany Shoham, a biological and chemical warfare expert at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University asserts that more than 40 Chinese facilities are involved in bio-weapon production.[6]
See also
References
- ↑ http://www.unog.ch/80256EE600585943/%28httpPages%29/04FBBDD6315AC720C1257180004B1B2F?OpenDocument
- ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/coldwar/pox_weapon_01.shtml
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsOJRxs_dTI
- ↑ https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/questions-surround-canadian-shipment-of-deadly-viruses-to-china-66254
- ↑ https://edmontonjournal.com/health/bio-warfare-experts-question-why-canada-was-sending-lethal-viruses-to-china/wcm/fce2a521-4ce1-4eb0-8ccf-43f165713c0b/
- ↑ https://idsa.in/system/files/jds/jds_9_2_2015_DanyShoham.pdf