ENCYCLOPEDIA OF Espionage, Intelligence, and Security Volume ...

Biological Input/Output Systemsin Afghanistan. Early analysis dates and attributes thesource of the contamination to former Soviet Union orsuccessive Russian biological and chemical weapons programsthat utilized the base.Evidence of continued biological weapons developmentand use in Iraq and Iran—both BWC signatorycountries—became widely evident during their war in the1980s. In the wake of the Gulf War, evidence of Iraqidevelopment of prohibited biological weapons mountedthroughout the 1990s. Although some weapons were subsequentlydestroyed by United Nations mandate, in January2003 the United States Secretary of State Colin L.Powell presented to the United Nations Security Councilalleged evidence of Iraq’s continued development of prohibitedbiological weapons.As of February, 2003, intelligence estimates compiledfrom various agencies provide indications that more thantwo dozen countries are actively involved in the developmentof biological weapons. The U.S. Office of TechnologyAssessment and the United States Department ofState have identified a list of potential enemy states developingbiological weapons. Such potentially hostile nationsinclude Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, North Korea, and China.The BWC prohibits the offensive weaponization ofbiological agents (e.g., anthrax spores). The BWC alsoprohibits the transformation of biological agents withestablished legitimate and sanctioned purposes into agentsof a nature and quality that could be used to effectivelyinduce illness or death. In addition to offensive weaponizationof microorganisms and/or toxins, prohibited researchprocedures include the concentrating a strain ofbacterium or virus, altering the size of aggregations ofpotentially harmful biologic agents (e.g., refining anthraxspore sizes to spore sizes small enough to be effectivelyand widely carried in air currents), producing strains capableof withstanding normally adverse environmental conditions(e.g., disbursement weapons blast), and/or themanipulation of a number of other factors that makebiologic agents effective weapons.Although there have been several international meetingsdesigned to strengthen the implementation and monitoringof BWC provisions, BWC verification proceduresare currently the responsibility of an ad hoc commissionof scientists. Broad international efforts to coordinate andstrengthen enforcement of BWC provisions remains elusive.❚ FURTHER READING:BOOKS:Cole, Leonard A. The Eleventh Plague: The Politics ofBiological and Chemical Warfare. New York: WH Freemanand Company, 1996.Dando, Malcolm. Biological Warfare in the 21st Century.New York: Macmillan, 1994.Roberts, Brad. Biological Weapons: Weapons of the Future?Washington, D.C.: Center for Strategic and InternationalStudies, 1993.PERIODICALS:DaSilva, E., “Biological Warfare, Terrorism, and the BiologicalToxin Weapons Convention.” Electronic Journalof Biotechnology. 3(1999):1–17.Dire, D. J., and T. W. McGovern. “CBRNE—BiologicalWarfare Agents.” eMedicine Journal 4(2002):1–39.ELECTRONIC:United States Department of State. “Parties and Signatoriesof the Biological Weapons Convention” December11, 2002. (February 25, 2003).SEE ALSOBiological WarfareBiological Warfare, Advanced DiagnosticsBiological Weapons, Genetic IdentificationBioterrorism, Protective MeasuresUSAMRIID (United States Army Medical Research Instituteof Infectious DiseasesVozrozhdeniye Island, Soviet and Russian BiochemicalFacilityWorld War IBiological Input/OutputSystems (BIOS)The Biological Input/Output Systems program, also calledBIOS, was funded by the Defense Advance Research ProjectsAgency (DARPA) in 2002. Its goal is to develop andincorporate specific genes into plants, bacteria, yeasts,and prokaryotes that will induce these organisms to act asremote sentinels indicating the presence of biological andchemical substances. These “plug and play” sequences ofDNA represent an important step in the development oftechnology that allow for the assembly of engineeredbiological pathways within living organisms. For example,an engineered receptor on the exterior of a cell’ssurface that binds a biological toxin and then signalsanother pathway within the organism so that it turnsdifferent color, activated a fluorescent protein, synthesizeda gene product or rearranged a segment of DNA is ofparticular interest to BIOS. The project aims to produceproof-of-concept examples within three years of initialfunding.An example of a project funded under the BIOS programinvolves embedding canine olfactory genes that areused in detecting TNT along with the DNA that codes forthe pheromone sensing pathway into a yeast’s DNA. Thepotential result is a genetically engineered yeast that candetect explosives. Eventually, these biological sentinelswill be grown on sheets that can be deployed in the field.114 Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security