Malcolm Dando | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Biological indecision

Malcolm Dando — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 20:35:32 -0500

The December 2011 Seventh Review Conference of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) in Geneva was widely expected to significantly strengthen international measures in the prohibition regime against weapons of mass destruction. After all, the review came after a series of constructive annual meetings in the second Intersessional Process (ISP) -- the meetings and actions taken throughout the five years between each review conference -- from 2007 to 2010 as well as in a number of meetings held over the last couple of years in different parts of the world.

Dealing with advances in science at the Seventh BTWC Review Conference

Malcolm Dando — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:46:32 -0500

Ahead of the Seventh Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) Review Conference, which will be held December 5-22 in Geneva, Switzerland, the United Nations published 26 advance papers produced by state parties to inspire serious and spirited discussion for the event -- and at least six of these papers focused on how advances in science and technology impact the BTWC and how, in the future, these advances should be considered by the stat

Educating the life scientists

Malcolm Dando — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 23:10:31 -0400

There are increasing signs that state parties to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) realize that the lack of biosecurity awareness and education among life scientists represents a serious gap in the overall web of policies designed to prevent bioterrorism and biowarfare. Without such awareness and education, how can practicing life scientists contribute their expertise to the development and implementation of oversight systems and codes of conduct necessary to protect benignly intended work from hostile misuse?

What the fight against disease can teach the biological weapons community

Malcolm Dando — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 19:14:02 -0400

On September 10, 2011, the London Observer newspaper carried a long, affectionate portrait of former US President Jimmy Carter. The author wrote of Carter's life before, during, and after his presidency -- noting approvingly, for example, that Carter didn't start any wars while in office. But my attention was drawn to some of the work Carter embarked on with the Carter Center after he left office.

An auspicious moment for the BWC Review Conference?

Malcolm Dando — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 08:39:55 -0400

As I endeavored to write a positive take on the prospects for the upcoming Seventh Review Conference of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) in December, the proverb "There's many a slip 'twixt cup and lip" kept coming to mind. In other words, a lot could still go wrong in December. Perhaps it's the history of the near-death experience of the Convention in the 2001-2002 Fifth Review Conference, or maybe it's the Convention's existence on the intersessional process (ISP) life-support system of 2003-2005 and 2007-2010.

Science, technology, and the bioweapons treaty

Malcolm Dando — Fri, 13 May 2011 09:42:49 -0400

If one listened closely to the discussions around the recent meeting of the Preparatory Committee for the upcoming review of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), one might have heard a distant rumble of concern. These worries stem from the widespread recognition that advances in the life sciences are progressing at a rate faster than the treaty seems able to keep pace with.

Did we make a huge mistake over dual use?

Malcolm Dando — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 21:22:08 -0500

Given the amount of space they occupy in newspapers, I cannot be the only person fascinated by obituaries. I enjoy reading about real people, their accomplishments, and the different worlds they inhabited. This pastime has led to new discoveries for me -- most recently the works of late historian John Burrow.

More talk, better security: The need for wider debate on strengthening the BWC

Malcolm Dando — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 01:27:08 -0500

There is an old joke that always makes me smile. It goes something like this:

A visitor to Ireland was in Cork and needed to get to Dublin quickly, so he asked a local what the best way to drive was. The answer came back after a short pause for thought: "If I was going to Dublin, I wouldn't start from here."

Teaching biosecurity

Malcolm Dando — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 09:48:54 -0500

In his keynote address delivered at the International Conference on Science and International Security: Addressing the Challenges of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism in Madrid on November 9, Sen. Richard Lugar, Republican of Indiana, stressed the need to expand the 20-year-old Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) Program, which he and former Sen. Sam Nunn, Democrat of Georgia, developed in 1991 to secure and destroy nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons in the former Soviet Union.

Science, development, and security: The Global Biological Resource Centre Network

Malcolm Dando — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 14:52:55 -0400

Sitting at King's Cross railway station in London, I suddenly became aware that people were looking at me. As a child, I have been told, I always laughed out loud when reading something I enjoyed; I have obviously not lost the habit.

New blood: Civil society helps shape the 2011 BTWC Review Conference agenda

Malcolm Dando — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 14:33:11 -0400

The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) have evolved in interestingly different ways in the first decade of the twenty-first century. The CWC and its major international organization -- the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons -- have become rather opaque to civil society, despite a significant program of official activities.

Synthetic biology: Harbinger of an uncertain future?

Malcolm Dando — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 10:33:00 -0400

It is hard to imagine that only three years ago, back in 2007, there was such a lack of awareness of dual-use and related biosecurity issues among practicing life scientists. Even the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) was almost unknown. For me, this brand of unawareness was confirmed when, that year, Alexander Kelle attended "Synthethic Biology 3.0", an international convention on synthetic biology that was held in Zurich, and interviewed some of the leaders in the field on dual-use and biosecurity issues.

Neuroethicists are not saying enough about the problem of dual-use

Malcolm Dando — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 08:01:18 -0400

The minutes of many U.K. Ministry of Defense's secret committees' meetings held during the Cold War period are now available to the public in the National Archives. Thus, we know that one March day in 1959, the Chemistry Committee of the U.K.'s Advisory Council on Scientific Research and Technical Development met in London to discuss the possibilities for developing new chemical incapacitating weapons agents--including ones with neurological effects--something both the United Kingdom and its allies were trying to achieve.

Reality check: No time to waste before the 2011 BWC Review Conference

Malcolm Dando — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 11:16:34 -0400

With the end of the academic year approaching and the 2010 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference already over, I had been looking forward to a little relaxation: After tidying my office, I planned to sit back and watch England win the World Cup in South Africa. Unfortunately for me, my summer plans were dashed when I realized that my office begged for much more than mere tidying. I was quickly brought back to reality--and that return to reality was not connected to England's chances of winning the World Cup.

From nose to brain: New route for chemical incapacitation?

Malcolm Dando — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 17:26:54 -0400

I first realized the power of intranasal drug delivery after reading a 2005 paper in Nature entitled "Oxytocin Increases Trust in Humans." In it, the authors--several psychologists, neuroscientists, and economists--reported on a study based on a game that pitted two players against each other--an investor and a trustee. (You may be wondering what this has to do with oxytocin, a neuropeptide involved in mammalian social behaviour, but bear with me!) The investor has the option of donating his money to the trustee.

Better incorporating ethicists into the life sciences

Malcolm Dando — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:10:50 -0500

In interdisciplinary discussions there are usually disagreements over terminology. I noticed this firsthand at a January seminar I attended in Australia that brought together some 40 natural scientists, social scientists, philosophers, ethicists, and policy makers to discuss the role and limits of ethics in regards to the dual-use problem in the life sciences.

Down the rabbit hole of BWC verification

Malcolm Dando — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 11:05:05 -0500

Everyone is familiar with the nightmare in which they haven't studied for tomorrow's exam. As I've gotten older, and become a teacher myself, this nightmare has mutated into one in which I've forgotten to prepare the exam for my students! I recently had this nightmare in novel form on a subject I hold dear--international treaty verification.

Bringing a "culture of responsibility" to life scientists

Malcolm Dando — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:22:12 -0500

In a 2005 essay entitled "Biomedical Research and Biosecurity," Robert Steinbrook, the national correspondent of the New England Journal of Medicine, concluded, "Establishing biosecurity policies for biomedical research without obstructing scientific progress or disrupting the usual procedures for scientific communication is a complex matter." Indeed it is--and has been.

Bringing increased biological and chemical weapons provisions to the ICC

Malcolm Dando — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:36:16 -0500

This month, the States Parties to the International Criminal Court (ICC) will come together in The Hague to prepare for their review of the Rome Statute, the ICC's governing document, in Uganda in 2010. The primary goal of this meeting is to assess how the ICC and its governing documents can be improved.

Closing the biology-security gap

Malcolm Dando — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:38:07 -0400

Contrary to popular opinion, I think that the international community has been relatively successful in constraining the proliferation of nuclear weapons over the last 60 years. I also believe that we may see a substantial reduction in the number of nuclear weapons over the next decade. Yet I am much less optimistic when it comes to the proliferation of biological weapons. In part, because it's easier to account for fissile material than biological material.