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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: biological weapons

biological weapons stories: 16 news summaries

'Biohackers' Create New,
DIY Organisms

Feds try to asses
threat from part-time Frankensteins

May 12, 09 1:14 PM CDT
(Newser) - Katherine Aull is creating new forms of life in her closet. Armed only with jury-rigged equipment and some DNA she bought online, the 23-year-old is creating custom E. coli bacteria she thinks could help cancer research. Aull is part of a growing movement of “biohackers,” amateur biologists crafting... More »

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national security • FBI • bacteria • biology • weapons of mass destruction • biological weapons • biohackers

 FBI Missed Anthrax Clues

Investigators were fixated on wrong suspect

Aug 15, 08 9:29 AM CDT
(Newser) - The FBI's obsessive focus on the wrong anthrax suspect caused the agency to miss some important clues pointing to Bruce Ivins, the Los Angeles Times reports. Records of key-card swipes show that Ivins, who killed himself last month before being charged, spent hours in a "hot suite" with access... More »

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national security • investigation • FBI • anthrax • biological weapons • Steven Hatfill • Bruce Ivins

Anthrax Security Gap:
'Worse Than McDonald's'

Background checks failed to reveal  scientist's mental illness

Aug 8, 08 9:45 AM CDT
(Newser) - The case of anthrax suspect Bruce Ivins has raised fears about security protecting Americans from the world's deadliest germs, the Washington Post reports. The scientist thought to be behind the deadly 2001 attacks had serious mental health problems and expressed homicidal thoughts to his frightened therapist—but his supervisors at... More »

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national security • anthrax • biological weapons • Bruce Ivins • biodefense

Emails Reveal Anthrax
Scientist's Delusions

'Split personality' Ivins was being 'eaten alive inside'

Aug 7, 08 2:25 AM CDT
(Newser) - Dozens of emails released by the FBI reveal that scientist Bruce Ivins was losing his grip on reality long before the deadly 2001 anthrax attacks, the New York Times reports.  The Army scientist and anthrax suspect, who committed suicide last month, wrote to a colleague in 2000 that he... More »

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FBI • anthrax • psychiatric disorders • biological weapons • domestic terrorism • Bruce Ivins

UPDATED

 Ivins Had
 Anthrax
 'Identical' to
 '01 Attack

Suspect sought to mislead FBI, released documents show

Aug 6, 08 2:17 PM CDT
(AP) - Army scientist Bruce Ivins is the sole person responsible for the 2001 anthrax attacks, and he had custody of highly purified anthrax spores with "certain genetic mutations identical" to the poison that killed five people, the Justice Department says. Ivins was unable to give investigators "an adequate explanation... More »

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investigation • FBI • United States • anthrax • biological weapons • domestic terrorism • Bruce Ivins

As Families
See Evidence, FBI Set to End Anthrax Probe

How feds traced attack to Ivins is key question

Aug 6, 08 12:43 PM CDT
(Newser) - The FBI began releasing details of its investigation into the 2001 anthrax mail attacks to families of the victims today, the AP reports, with information to be made public within hours on judge’s orders. The agency is ready to end its probe, with sources telling the Wall Street Journal ... More »

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War on Terror • FBI • federal courts • anthrax • biological weapons • domestic terrorism • Bruce Ivins

Anthrax Expert Could Have Cashed In on Panic

Ivins had share in patents for a vaccine

Aug 2, 08 8:38 AM CDT
(Newser) - Bruce Ivins, the government scientist linked to the deadly 2001 anthrax mailings who committed suicide this week, stood to profit from a panic set off by the killings, the Los Angeles Times reports. Ivins, who was close to being charged by the FBI when he killed himself, was listed as... More »

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vaccine • anthrax • biological weapons • motive • Bruce Ivins

Feds Were Closing In on Anthrax Expert

They planned to indict, seek death penalty;
scientist killed himself

Aug 1, 08 10:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - If Army microbiologist Bruce Ivins hadn’t killed himself, he might have been executed. Federal prosecutors were on the verge of indicting Ivins in the 2001 anthrax mail attacks that killed five people, and they would have sought the death penalty, the AP reports. One official says an ongoing grand... More »

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suicide • FBI • scientist • anthrax • biological weapons • Bruce Ivins

Anthrax Case Scientist Commits Suicide

Microbiologist took
drug overdose as investigators closed in

Aug 1, 08 4:41 AM CDT
(Newser) - A government scientist in Maryland about to be charged in the 2001 anthrax attacks has apparently committed suicide, the Los Angeles Times reports. Microbiologist Bruce Ivins was questioned after the attacks for failing to report anthrax contamination at his workplace, but the investigation soon switched focus. Colleagues say Ivins became... More »

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suicide • FBI • scientist • anthrax • biological weapons • Steven Hatfill

Scientists Close In on Antidote
to Neurotoxin

Cure would block feared bioweapon that causes paralysis

May 12, 08 6:11 PM CDT
(Newser) - Scientists are one step closer to developing an antidote to botulinum, a potentially devastating biological weapon, the BBC reports. Terrorists have tried, so far unsuccessfully, to deploy the neurotoxin, which is also the culprit in botulism and the secret behind Botox. A botulinum vaccine already exists, but the new drug... More »

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terrorism • Botox • biological weapons • scientific breakthroughs • botulinum • antidote • neurotoxin

 WTC Blueprints Found in Trash 

After huge security breach, vagrant spots documents

Apr 18, 08 12:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - A vagrant sifting through a trash can found confidential blueprints for the Freedom Tower, the New York Post reports. Though the documents are not complete, they contain sufficient information, such as the thickness of the building’s concrete core and schematics of the ventilation system, to facilitate a potentially devastating... More »

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terrorism • World Trade Center • Freedom Tower • September 11 • terrorist • confidential information • biological weapons • architectural plans

Man Says
He Had Ricin
for Self-Defense

He admits having it in hotel, says he did not plan to hurt anyone

Mar 18, 08 7:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Las Vegas man hospitalized by exposure to ricin in his hotel room told his brother he  did not intend to hurt anyone with it, the AP reports. Roger Bergendoff, who regained consciousness last week after a month, admitted possessing the biological agent but said it was for self-defense. "... More »

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FBI • Las Vegas • toxin • Nevada • Poison • suspected terrorists • biological weapons • ricin • Roger Bergendorff • Erich Bergendorff

 Man in
 Ricin Case 
 Wakes Up 

FBI questioning 57-year-old about toxin found in Las Vegas hotel room

Mar 14, 08 5:45 PM CDT
(Newser) - The man at the center of the Las Vegas ricin investigation regained consciousness today, although he remains hospitalized in critical condition, the Associated Press reports. Roger Bergendorff, 57, had been in a coma since Feb. 14; he has already been questioned by FBI agents about the toxin—considered a "... More »

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terrorism • FBI • Las Vegas • poison • toxin • Nevada • biological warfare • biological weapons • ricin • Roger Bergendorff

UPDATED

Man in Critical Condition After Stay in Ricin Room

No apparent terror motive in toxin mystery

Feb 29, 08 3:05 PM CST
(Newser) - A man who stayed in a Las Vegas hotel room where ricin was found yesterday has been hospitalized for 2 weeks after exposure to the toxin and is in critical condition, CNN reports. A friend retrieving his belongings discovered the ricin. "We don't know who it belongs to or... More »

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Las Vegas • poison • toxin • biological weapons • ricin

'Terror Toxin' Found in Vegas

Police hunt source of container found in hotel room

Feb 29, 08 6:58 AM CST
(Newser) - Las Vegas police have discovered the deadly toxin ricin at a long-stay hotel, CNN reports. It's "100% ricin," said a police official. "We did have enough ricin to be concerned. At this point, it has been contained and is not a threat to anybody." Three policemen,... More »

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Las Vegas • extremists • toxin • biological weapons • ricin

Saddam Faked Nukes to
Scare Iran, Not US: Agent

Did not believe US would invade over weapons of mass destruction

Jan 25, 08 5:18 AM CST
(Newser) - Saddam Hussein revealed in FBI interrogations that he had no nuclear or biological weapons of mass destruction, but hid that fact to avoid invasion by Iran—and was stunned when the US invaded. "For him, it was critical that he was seen as the strong, defiant Saddam to prevent... More »

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Iraq • Iran • Saddam Hussein • FBI • nuclear weapons • chemical weapons • interrogation • WMD • weapons of mass destruction • George Piro • Dora Farms • biological weapons

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