10 Scariest Bioweapons

by Robert Lamb

*
Print
* Email
* Cite
* Feedback
*
Share
o Digg This
o Yahoo! Buzz
o StumbleUpon
o del.icio.us
o Reddit

Cite This!
Close
Please copy/paste the following text to properly cite this How Stuff Works article:

Lamb, Robert. "10 Scariest Bioweapons." 26 August 2008. HowStuffWorks.com.

<http://science.howstuffworks.com/bioweapon.htm> 09 September 2008.
Inside this Article

1. Introduction to 10 Scariest Bioweapons

2. Bioweapon 10: Smallpox
3. Bioweapon 9: Anthrax

4. Bioweapon 8: Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever

5. Bioweapon 7: Plague
6. Bioweapon 6: Tularemia
7.
See more »
7. Bioweapon 5: Botulinum Toxin
8. Bioweapon 4: Rice Blast
9. Bioweapon 3: Rinderpest
10. Bioweapon 2: Nipah Virus
11. Bioweapon 1: Chimera Viruses
12. Lots More Information
13. See all Biological Warfare articles

Viruses: USAMRIID
Viruses: USAMRIID
Play Video

* More Science Videos »

Close
You need the Flash Player version 8.0.0.0 or higher and a JavaScript enabled browser to view this site

Viruses: USAMRIID
In USAMRIID (The U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease), there is an special
forces team on 24-hour alert, trained to do battle with viruses. Isolation procedures and special equipment
protect medics. (July 25)
 * More Science Videos

At one time or another, humans have turned to just about every viable option on the planet for new means
of destroying one another. We've leveled forests, plundered the elements and diverted religion, philosophy,
science and art to fuel humanity's desire for bloodshed. Along the way, we've even weaponized some of
nature's most formidable viral, bacterial and fungal foes.
bioweapons
Remi Benali/Getty Images News/Getty Images
The world is home to a number of deadly viruses, bacteria and fungi. Biological warfare involves the
human use of these agents to destroy one another.

The use of biological weapons, or bioweapons, dates back to the ancient world. As early as 1,500 B.C. the
Hittites of Asia Minor recognized the power of contagions and sent plague victims into enemy lands.
Armies, too, have long understood the power of bioweapons, catapulting diseased corpses into besieged
fortresses and poisoning enemy wells. Some historians even argue that the 10 biblical plagues Moses called
down against the Egyptians may have been more of a concentrated campaign of biological warfare rather
than the acts of a vengeful god [source: NPR].
Quiz Corner
Think you know all there is to know about bioweapons? Test your knowledge with our Biochemical
Warfare Quiz.

Since those early days, advances in medical science have led to a vastly improved understanding of harmful
pathogens and the way our immune systems deal with them. But while these advancements have led to
vaccinations and cures, they have also led to the further weaponization of some of the most destructive
biological agents on the planet.

The first half of the 20th century saw the use of the biological weapon anthrax by both the Germans and
Japanese, as well as the subsequent development of biological weapons programs in nations such as the
United States, the United Kingdom and Russia. Today, biological weapons are outlawed under 1972's
Biological Weapons Convention and the Geneva Protocol. But while a number of nations have long
destroyed their stockpiles of bioweapons and ceased research into their proliferation, the threat remains.
In this article, we'll examine some of the leading bioweapon threats, as well as what the future of biological
warfare may have in store for us all.