palosaari@oxy.edu (Jedidiah Jon Palosaari) (11/14/89)
Could a biotech weapon be made that would disrupt DNA replication etc. using a varient of DNase?
mike@uxf.cso.uiuc.edu (Mike Trogni) (11/14/89)
We were learning about tetracycline, a inhibitor that sticks to the 30S sub-unit of ribosome, blocking protein synthesis. going down to the molecular level there are plenty of examples of inhibitors that stop reactions. of course, it doesn't destroy any DNA but does stop any useful proteins from being made from it... assuming it isn't immune to tet. -- [m-trogni@uiuc.edu]
stevelee@csd4.csd.uwm.edu (The Anti-Theist Named Steve) (11/14/89)
In article <60608@tiger.oxy.edu> palosaari@oxy.edu (Jedidiah Jon Palosaari) writes: >Could a biotech weapon be made that would disrupt DNA replication etc. >using a varient of DNase? The only way I can see to make a DNAse variant biotech weapon (hope it never happens to be honest), is to somehow attach it to vaporized DMSO-which is a kind of super solvent. That's the stuff kids put LSD into at Dead concerts and spray people with to give them a rather unexpected trip. DMSO carries just about anything with it across the skin. But, to be honest, I would think a strong mutagen like ethidium bromide, which interferes with replication by getting into the spaces between the strands of the double helix, causing a misreading in the replication and transcription process. Where ethidium bromide would be better as a weapon is that: (a) it needs no outside solvent to do some serious mutagenic damage. (b) it is not as prone to being broken down in the stomach (or so I've been told) if ingested. DNAse is pretty sensitive to heat and extremes in acidity. -stevelee- -I am the Anti-Theist- |-------------------------------|--------------------------------------------| | Steven Lee Pearson | HISTORY SHOWS AGAIN AND AGAIN HOW NATURE | | stevelee@csd4.csd.uwm.edu | POINTS OUT THE FOLLY OF MEN. | | (414) 962-4828 | (from "Godzilla" by the BOC) | |-------------------------------|--------------------------------------------|
mmm@cup.portal.com (Mark Robert Thorson) (11/15/89)
There's lots of problems with a weapon which is a simple blocker of DNA replication or transcription to RNA. Even if you could find an agent which a) can be absorbed through the skin or lungs b) is not destroyed in the process c) spreads throughout the body, it would not be an effective weapon because it would take weeks or months to incapacitate the victim. Not like nerve gas or phosgene, where they drop dead right away. Such an agent would share the other disadvantages of poison gas, i.e. a) subject to shifts in the wind b) hard to keep off your own troops c) easy to take countermeasures. Now if you were talking about a nanotechnology robot poison gas, you might have something. These could be equipped with diamond cutting tools to break through gas masks, they could have an "off" signal (such as a frequency of light) which could be used to decontaminate an area before moving your own troops in, they might even produce specific changes in the enemy such as rewiring their brains so that they're on your side.
werner@aecom.yu.edu (Craig Werner) (11/15/89)
In article <60608@tiger.oxy.edu>, palosaari@oxy.edu (Jedidiah Jon Palosaari) writes: > Could a biotech weapon be made that would disrupt DNA replication etc. > using a varient of DNase? Several drugs with that effect although not that mechanism already exist, and while they make relatively lousy weapons, some of them don't make half bad anti-cancer agents. -- Craig Werner (future MD/PhD, 4.5 years down, 2.5 to go) werner@aecom.YU.EDU -- Albert Einstein College of Medicine (1935-14E Eastchester Rd., Bronx NY 10461, 212-931-2517) "My philosophy, like color TV, is all there in black and white."
ladasky@codon4.berkeley.edu (John Ladasky;1021 Solano No. 2;528-8666) (11/19/89)
Is this really a responsible thing to be discussing?
Well, fine, here's my $.02...
With respect to tetracycline; it is used as an anti-acne agent in
humans and is administered orally. So much for a biotech weapon. However,
it does cause an increased tendency to sunburn.
I've also been told that tetracycline is very effective against
several common venereal diseases (presumably bacterial), and that a proposal
to administer tetracycline to pre-teen Americans was considered in the
1950's by the Federal government. The proposal was killed by a coalition
of Christian groups who didn't like the premarital sex implications of the
proposal...
T CROSS POLICE LINE DO NOT CROSS POLICE LINE DO NOT CROSS POLICE LINE DO NOT CR
_______________________________________________________________________________
"Do unto others as you would like - John J. Ladasky ("ii")
to do unto them. " Richard Bach (ladasky@enzyme.berkeley.edu)mmm@cup.portal.com (Mark Robert Thorson) (11/20/89)
A long time ago, I used to raise bees. The beekeeping catalog from the A.I.Root company of Medina, OH offered big cans of tetracycline and sulfanilamide at remarkably low prices. Because these were not intended for humans, there was absolutely no restriction on who could buy them or how much. (Another odd little fact to keep in your mind brought to by the Journalism Dept. of Portal University.)