Worrksheet Biological Warfare!

Which bodies currently fund research into your topic?

• As almost all countries have signed the treaty banishing BW it is hard to say which countries are funding research, but I’d reckon that a lot of them do have some secret research - maybe not even to harm someone but to prepare (and arm) themselves for possible attacks. It’s a fact that, as a part of their defense policy many governments fund research in biodefense.

Who do you think should fund research into your topic and why?

• Honestly, I don’t really know. Why would I want anyone to fund research in something that can easily kill me?

Does the science in your topic benefit everybody? If so, who does it benefit the most?

• When looking at long term effects I think that many people, if not everybody, could benefit from research that is related to BW. The problem with this question is, however, that I don’t think there is much research for BW specifically, most of the knowledge about BW comes from other fields like medical, chemical or biological research. These sciences usually aim at making our lives better/easier, so yes, people benefit. Even if e.g. new cancer treatment is too expensive for people at the beginning it will eventually be available to almost everyone. If knowledge is misused very little people would benefit, because, as I said, most knowledge is extracted from other disciplines.

If it does not benefit everybody equally, should society be paying for the research?

• Definitely. Due to the fact that most knowledge is extracted from other disciplines it would be unfair to not fund research. I would do more harm than good to stop funding research. But that is the big problem with the dual-use dilemma and I already discussed it in the other homework, here’s the link in case you want to know all of my thoughts to this topic. 

Find a TED talk in some way related to your topic. Paste the link below.

• http://blog.ted.com/2013/09/14/your-weekend-reading-in-defense-of-the-red-line-a-public-health-heroine/ [more specifically: http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/139913/sohail-h-hashmi-and-jon-western/a-taboo-worth-protecting?cid=rss-rss_xml-a_taboo_worth_protecting-000000] This one is about chemical weapons, I know, but chemical and biological weapons are not that different if you think about it.
• http://www.ted.com/speakers/alan_russell
• http://www.ted.com/speakers/marc_goodman

Did it teach you anything new? If so, which aspects had you not considered before?

• It definitely taught me to think twice about everything. Even if something seems to be perfectly alright and beneficial at the beginning it’s very likely that it does have a downside. Almost any invention can be misused in one or another way, so don’t just be happy about anything that seems to facilitate your life but be critical as it most likely does have a disadvantage.

Every area of research has societal factors which limit its progress. How are outside influences impacting research in the field of science you are looking at for your CAJ? Think of as many examples as you can.

• If in any way society has increased the risk for BW by pushing progress in the genetic and medical field. The fact that knowledge has become available so easily makes it prone to misuse.
• Religious fanatics might be against research because they think humans shouldn’t mess with what’s “god-given” and that we don’t have the right to modify anything.
• As most people don’t really think about the threat of BW (I didn’t either before I started my CAJ) I don’t think there are so many societal factors influencing it.

Imagine you are leading a team of researchers in your field. How would you seek to overcome these societal limitations as much as possible?

• I would try to fight against religious fanatics and teach them that progress is not diabolic. I am not against religion, but what the hell is wrong with people who say it’s god’s will that this specific person they don’t even know suffers years and years from cancer only to die miserably in the end anyway? That is just ridiculous, and if cancer research can help sick people it definitely should!

Follow this link to the list of CAJ topics.You will also need to open the list of gmail addresses. Which other topics connect, even if only in a small way, to your own topic? If you cannot say whether someone’s topic connects to yours because you do not fully understand what their topic is, then you will need to have a look at their CAJ first. Give me as many topics as you can, but at least three, which connect to your own. When you are finished, click the “share” button and invite those students below to your document (make sure the box “Notify people via e-mail” is checked so that they know you have added them).

• Follow the link.