| dc.description.abstract | Peter Parker and Uncle Ben are on my mind. The reason is that is that a month ago I
was jumped by Craig Venter. There were TV cameras around. The live audience was an
interesting, edgy mix, on the interface between "technology", meaning computer
technology, and culture/ media/ journalism; I had just given a closely prepared talk on the
history, promises, and perils of biology, 20 minutes from solar system formation to origin
of life to photosynthesis to agriculture to Asilomar to now; and I had paid particular
attention to the existing threat from remade and lightly engineered viruses, and the
various technology-empowered approaches that could contribute to a defense against
unpredictable viral and bacterial pathogens. The whole set of ways the defense strategy
needs to shift. | en |
