A Glance on Biological Warfare

Biological Warfare is an old affair that we have known since the first conquest in our time here on Earth. History has shown us that the use of biological weapon with the likes of bubonic disease elements has been found in medieval times. Also the use of anthrax in war has been profoundly seen as tactical advantage during war. In the medieval ages, the bubonic plague infected carcasses were ditched into the enemy water sources which caused massive catastrophe.

During World War 2 the Japanese dropped flea bombs infected with bubonic plague over the cities of China. This resulted in deaths of thousands of civilians across the Chinese city. Extracting information from the history, we have come a long way in advancement of synthetic biology. This progress in Synthetic biology has been used in making genetically advanced bio-weapons. These synthetic bio-weapons have more registered kills than both the nuclear and chemical warfare combined.

Advancement in Synthetic biology has now invented various forms of bio-weapons which are deployed through the aerosol system and missiles. Each type of bio weapons has its own purpose.

Aggressive purpose

The Modern Biological Weapon Manufacturers claimed that the bacteria used in the Bio-Warfare has been synthetically modified and can be narrowed down on the environment they are released. The aggressive purposes of these weapons are especially designed to impede the advancing forces of the enemies. The aggressive Bio Warfare uses bacteria’s like Anthrax which can have massive outbreak as far as 200 km from the released point.

Against Food Supplies of the Target

This Biological Warfare was especially developed for destroying enemy’s agriculture using plant disease. The bacteria’s like bioherbicide and mycoherbicides are used for attacking the crops of the enemies. Its effect was widely seen during the Cold War.

Also the livestock too were meant to be attacked by these Bio-Weapons. Use of these types of Bio-Weapons can be found in Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya. The cattle were killed using the venomous latex from the African milk bush.

A penny for a thought

Research has shown that Biological Warfare is and has always been a major threat during the wars. The thing about Biological Warfare is that it is relatively very cost effective to develop than nuclear or chemical weapons. One can make DIY Biological Weapon in their own settlements only for a few bucks. Various nations all over the world have their own laws in regulating the synthetic biological experiments into Biological weapons.

In sum, the Innovations done by mankind can be used for destructive purposes. It’s the intention of the user that separates Good from the Evil. After all, the advancement in science is purely for the nourishment of the Human Race.

Plutonium - A Radioactive Chemical Element

The Discovery

In 1941, four scientists from the University of California, Berkeley discovered plutonium. The finding took place when the men bombarded uranium-238 with deuterons which they accelerated the uranium-238 around in a cyclotron. The result was the creation of neptunium-238 along with two free neutrons which decayed and became plutonium, according to Chemistry Explained.

It was 1946 when one scientist, Glenn T. Seaborg, wrote a paper about the discovery. The team shared the results with the rest of the community of scientists, but the academic community removed the results when they found that plutonium contained isotope Pu-239, an ingredient that could contribute to the creation of the atomic bomb.

The Los Alamos National Library reported that Seaborg transferred to the Plutonium Production Lab at the University of Chicago. There he was charged with creating plutonium as part of the Manhattan Project, a secret group working to develop the atomic bomb. The plutonium was named for the now debunked planet, following the practice of naming the two previous elements, neptunium and uranium after Neptune and Uranus.

Uses for Plutonium

But along with its infamous use in the Manhattan Project, plutonium had other reasons for being, including the following:

• Plutonium's radiation manifests as heat. It produces so much heat that it feels warm to the touch when held. A large piece of plutonium, when placed in water, can cause the water to boil.
• Space probes and space vehicles use plutonium to provide electrical power.
• The heat property of Plutonium also makes it useful for some thermoelectric generator uses. And it is utilized as a fuel for nuclear fission.
• When a neutron collides with uranium-238 isotopes in the reactor, they do not experience fission, but they do change to plutonium-239 which, when removed from the reactor, is purified and re-used as fuel for yet another nuclear reactor.
• The earliest pacemakers had batteries that contained small amounts of plutonium-238.

"Fat Man" (the bomb which dropped on the Nagasaki) had a plutonium core.

Dangers of Plutonium

The toxicity of plutonium is one of the highest of any element. Only remote devices are safe when handling the compound, and the person working with the plutonium must remain behind a protective wall to avoid radiation. A danger to the body when exposed to plutonium is that it is apt to concentrate in bones which could lead to bone cancer down the line.

Characteristics of Plutonium

• A silvery radioactive metal, plutonium does tarnish when exposed to air. The result is a yellow oxide coating.
• Plutonium's six allotropic forms differ widely in density and crystal structure.
• And due to Plutonium's 87.7-year half-life, it produces roughly 4800 gigajoules of energy. For that same amount of energy, if using natural gas, the Mars rover would need to take along approximately 86 metric tons of methane, along with 345 metric tons of oxygen.

Plutonium’s Future

An article in The Atlantic by Shirley Li, the author quotes Alex Wellerstein, a historian of science at the Stevens Institute of Technology, who believes that nuclear energy can potentially become a part of future that will have no fossil fuels. Some may disagree that creating more nuclear waste is a good idea, but Wellerstein adds that it may be the world’s only alternative.

Synthetic Biology - A Possible Future Niche

There are constant strives and innovations going on in the medical world. One of the latest ideas is synthetic biology, which is quite a scientific subject matter. Some of the top scientists in the field are still a little unsure of exactly how synthetic biology will work, but it is not stopping the medical field from advancing in the field. Simply put, synthetic biology is the process of shuffling genes around to make human cells from scratch without actually using any natural cells.

It is thought that this type of biology can be used to make T-cells, which may be able to fight cancers and other diseases which are typically incurable. There is of course controversy over making human cells out of nonhuman materials. There is the argument that it is an unnatural process and that it should not be attempted even if it does have its benefits. It is the benefits however that scientists and other medical professionals are fighting for. Some countries have even gone as far as banning synthetic biology because they are afraid of the technology falling into the wrong hands.

At this point, the studies are only studies, and nothing concrete has invented or implemented. Even though synthetic cells have created in labs, these cells have not been used in any current medical treatments. It could be years or even decades before the public would see any benefit from the study of synthetic biology, but this is a direction that medicine is keeping an eye out for.

Synthetic Biology - The Future of Chemical Manufacturers

Advancing technology and new uses for old substances may substantially change the future for chemical manufacturers. Synthetic biology as a factor of applied biotechnology will produce some innovative new ways for manufacturing facilities to produce the vast amount of chemicals required by various industries.

Chemical Manufacturing in the Past

In the past, plant matter supplied the raw material to produce chemicals. It was not until petroleum came along that a wider variety of plastics and other substances were invented. Indeed, this was viewed as one of the greatest advances in the 20th century.

Now, due to advances in genetic engineering, new possibilities exist for the manufacture of chemicals through the use of synthetic biology.

How It Works

The purpose of the synthetic biologist is to build an animal from injury. They are using an appearance comparable to that of others type of engineering in the design and construction of systems that will support this new technology.

Algae group are fed biomass made from natural material such as sugarcane in the deep, bioengineering that allow the algae to produce oil outgoing in the process of photosynthesis.

There is no doubt synthetic biology still has a long way to go toward becoming the new replacement for non-renewable sources used by chemical manufacturers. However, the possibilities are exciting, and this modern field offers hope for the creation of cheaper, sustainable materials.