Science and prohibited weapons.

T his year, on 17 June, the Geneva Protocol, an international treaty prohibiting the use of asphyxiating or poisonous gases and bacteriological methods of warfare, turned 80 years of age. It was fostered in part by a 1918 appeal in which the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) described the use of poisonous gas against soldiers as a " barbarous invention which science is bringing to perfection. " Great peacetime advances in chemistry before the First World War made possible the manufacture and use of chlorine, phosgene, and mustard gas on the battlefield. The ICRC foresaw " a struggle the ferocity of which will exceed the greatest barbarity the world has known. " The 20th century witnessed a continuous accumulation of potential biological and chemical weapons in many nations. Some of these weapons were deployed; for example, These treaties extended the Geneva Protocol's prohibition beyond mere use to include the development, production, and transfer of all such weapons. The scientific community now faces difficult questions. Major advances in chemistry, microbiology, and nuclear physics have, regrettably, led to hostile use of the knowledge and materials from these scientific domains; a use that the original scientist-discoverers would have deplored. What will be the outcome for humanity if the results of the research explosion in life sciences and biotechnology are also turned to hostile use? What are the associated responsibilities of scientists? Scientists in academia and government recognize that advances in the life sciences and biotechnology could make biological weapons more effective, safer to use, more difficult to detect, and therefore more attractive options for would-be users. The dangers lie in both bioterrorism and in government-backed programs, and robust international mechanisms are required to deter the development, production, transfer, and use of these weapons. This provides the background to the numerous conferences this year discussing biosecurity and for the meeting of experts at the BWC this month in Geneva that is examining proposed codes of conduct for scientists. These discussions take place against a history of societal norms against biological and chemical weapons that reaches back much further than the 1925 Geneva Protocol. The current treaties represent the development and codification of rules and taboos that for thousands of years have protected people from poisoning and the deliberate spreading of disease. Both Greek and Roman civilizations customarily observed a prohibition on the use of poisons. In 500 B.C., the Manu treaty in …