Reply #27: Data Mining and Genetic Assassination? [View All]

For now, crafting a genetic bullet that could be carried by many but kill only one isn't within reach, but neither is it beyond imagining. "I see that prospect as an easy fix for biologicals . . . one that would require money and time, but seems rather doable," one researcher with an intelligence agency writes to the Voice. A Secret Service spokesman says the agency is aware of the issue, but can't comment on it for fear of tipping its hand.

Targeting a person with a custom-tailored pathogen would be difficult and expensive, emphasizes Dr. William Nierman, director for research at the Institute for Genomic Research, a central player in the Human Genome Project. But asked by the Voice, Nierman, who was a Navy researcher, explains how it might be done.

First, fish out the target from a sea of human genes, using the handful of DNA markers that "give essentially unique identification to an individual or his/her identical twin," he writes, in an e-mail interview.

Then seek that person's weaknesses—tiny details in DNA that make a particular person sensitive to drugs or disease. Little is known about this kind of variation, but it "undoubtedly does exist," Nierman says. "It is well established for some drugs, and genetic susceptibility to infectious agents is widely believed to be true. . . . Once these differential sensitivities are characterized, they potentially can be used for single-person targeting."

From 2001, read more...