This article is about harmful biological agents. For therapeutic biological drugs, see Biopharmaceutical.
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A culture of Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax
Biological weapons are pathogens used as weapons. In addition to these living or replicating pathogens, toxins and biotoxins are also included among the bio-agents. More than 1,200 different kinds of potentially weaponizable bio-agents have been described and studied to date.
Some biological agents have the ability to adversely affect human health in a variety of ways, ranging from relatively mild allergic reactions to serious medical conditions, including serious injury, as well as serious or permanent disability or even death. Many of these organisms are ubiquitous in the natural environment where they are found in water, soil, plants, or animals.[1] Bio-agents may be amenable to "weaponization" to render them easier to deploy or disseminate. Genetic modification may enhance their incapacitating or lethal properties, or render them impervious to conventional treatments or preventives. Since many bio-agents reproduce rapidly and require minimal resources for propagation, they are also a potential danger in a wide variety of occupational settings.[1]
The 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) is an international treaty banning the development, use or stockpiling of biological weapons; as of March 2021, there were 183 States Parties to the BWC.[2] Bio-agents are, however, widely studied for both defensive and medical research purposes under various biosafety levels and within biocontainment facilities throughout the world.
^ ab"Biological Agents". United States Department of Labor: OSHA. Retrieved 2012-05-31.
^Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
bio-agents. More than 1,200 different kinds of potentially weaponizable bio-agents have been described and studied to date. Some biologicalagents have...
potential pests. Biological control agents such as these include predators, parasitoids, pathogens, and competitors. Biological control agents of plant diseases...
Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, insects, and fungi with...
supplement to leavening agents is mechanical action by which air is incorporated (i.e. kneading). Leavening agents can be biological or synthetic chemical...
terrorism involving the intentional release or dissemination of biologicalagents. These agents include bacteria, viruses, insects, fungi, and/or their toxins...
stockpile of biologicalagents and weapons. Over the course of its 27-year history, the program weaponized and stockpiled seven bio-agents — Bacillus anthracis...
Under United States law, Biological select agents or toxins (BSATs)—or simply select agents for short—are bio-agents which (since 1997) have been declared...
Incapacitating agent is a chemical or biologicalagent which renders a person unable to harm themselves or others, regardless of consciousness. Lethal agents are...
A biological hazard, or biohazard, is a biological substance that poses a threat (or is a hazard) to the health of living organisms, primarily humans....
Chemical, biological (CB) — and sometimes radiological — warfare agents were assigned what is termed a military symbol by the U.S. military until the...
Rhymefest from El Che (2010) "The Agent" (Little Man Tate song) (2006) Agent (video game), a stealth action game Biologicalagent, a bacterium, virus, protozoan...
a set of biocontainment precautions required to isolate dangerous biologicalagents in an enclosed laboratory facility. The levels of containment range...
government reports, if not bound chemically to a biological surface such as soil, leaves or grass, Agent Orange dries quickly after spraying and breaks...
“a pesticide made from biological sources, that is from toxins which occur naturally. - naturally occurring biologicalagents used to kill pests by causing...
A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a biological, chemical, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill or significantly harm many people...
The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), or Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC), is a disarmament treaty that effectively bans biological and...
high-flying aircraft are actually "chemtrails" consisting of chemical or biologicalagents, sprayed for nefarious purposes undisclosed to the general public...
chemical and biological warfare. Borden Institute, Walter Reed Army Medical Center. ISBN 978-9997320919. "Chemical and BiologicalAgents". New Environment...
which involved spraying several U.S. ships with various biological and chemical warfare agents, while thousands of U.S. military personnel were aboard...
(2016). "Clonorchis sinensis, an oriental liver fluke, as a human biologicalagent of cholangiocarcinoma: a brief review". BMB Reports. 49 (11): 590–597...
weeds, fungi, or insects. In general, a pesticide is a chemical or biologicalagent (such as a virus, bacterium, or fungus) that deters, incapacitates...
of these agents were genetically altered to resist heat, cold, and antibiotics. In the 1990s, Boris Yeltsin admitted to an offensive biological weapons...
Dalles, the largest population center in Wasco County. The chosen biologicalagent was Salmonella enterica Typhimurium, which was first delivered through...
In genetics, a mutagen is a physical or chemical agent that permanently changes genetic material, usually DNA, in an organism and thus increases the frequency...
that biological warfare could cause mass casualties. It could happen intentionally or inadvertently, by an accidental release of a biologicalagent, the...
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