rjw@ptsfc.UUCP (Rod Williams) (01/12/86)
> I have heard from two widely separated sources that the AIDS > virus is man made. Has anyone else heard the same thing? Is > there any truth to the rumor? The New York Native printed a UPI wire service article recently which quoted a British urinary and venereal disease expert, John Seale, on this topic. He said that, since 1949, biological warfare research centers knew about the highly lethal Visna virus in sheep. The virus grew easily in cell cultures, had a structure remarkably similar to the AIDS virus, and caused a similar disease. The AIDS virus has one gene extra over the Visna virus, but, says Seale, "inserting an extra gene into a virus is a routine procedure in modern genetic engin- eering". He went on to say that it was likely that the potential of developing the Visna virus for use in biological warfare was considered by research establishments both in the East and the West, though "it would have been a very odd one for the West to make because it is so slow to develop". The idea that the AIDS virus had been manipulated in the laboratory by biological scientists merited "serious consideration", he said. -- rod williams | {ihnp4,dual}!ptsfa!ptsfc!rjw ------------------------------------------- pacific bell | san ramon | california