News Looking for Anthrax Equipment? Check Out This Report!

[Tsu]

Interesting report on NBC Nightly News:

http://www.msnbc.com/news/976759.asp

edit (written after first two responses): Sorry I didn't get back to this sooner. I got interrupted as I was posting this. The point is, if you watch the video of the report, you can get some real nice equipment REAL CHEAP! I knew russ would be all over it before I got back. Yes, dears. I know. If I want some anthrax, I'll go to my neighbors sheep ranch and get me some. But there are a lot of nice science folks living here and the gov't has a warehouse full of expensive (albeit a tad out of date) equipment that can be had for a song. So keep your shorts on. (Ah. The good old bait and switch routine. Gotta love it! )

 

[iansmith]

Is this joke? Any can buy lab equipment but not every body can get a strain pathogenic towards human. I don't even have to buy the equipment, I could produce such a thing in my lab. Newsmedia are really goog at scarying people and anyway anthrax is not a good biological weapons in term of killing but it is good agent of terror.

 

[russ_watters]

Most people would be shocked to learn what kind of equipment is used in commercial drug labs: Industrial sized FOOD processing equipment. The same Hobart mixer your lunch lady used to make soup.

Its just like nuclear weapons - they aren't that tough for a handful of engineers and physicists to build, the tough part is getting the nuclear material.

This just in: explosive making ingredients found in local hardware and grocery stores. Story at 11.