Throughout the history of our species, weapons have evolved and improved in parallel with man himself. At first they were tools, later - hunting devices. Cold, firearms, traumatic, nuclear weapons are only a part of which a person fought for his life.
In the 21st century, the world shuddered at rumors of climate and biological threats. And if the existence of climate weapons is not proven, then there is no reason to doubt the biological danger. The out-of-control artificial bacterium "Cynthia" is direct evidence of this. Although, according to scientists, they brought it out exclusively for peaceful purposes.
What is it?
It is worth noting right away that the "Cynthia" bacterium never existed in nature and could not have appeared without human help. 20 scientific minds worked on its creation, and the group was led by Nobel Prize winner Smith Hamilton. That's how many people it took to create a strain of mycoplasma capable ofreproduce on their own.
Initially, scientists took an intracellular organism known as Mycoplasma genitalium, which contains 482 genes. With the help of his chromosomes, they created a bacillus with fully computerized DNA. The main task that Cynthia was supposed to perform was to actively process oil and multiply rapidly.
We wanted the best
In the spring of 2010 there was a major accident in the Gulf of Mexico. An oil-producing platform sank, as a result of which black gold began to fall into the reservoir. The leak continued for more than three months. As a result, almost 5 million barrels of oil fell into the bay.
Bacteria "Cynthia" was supposed to eliminate the consequences of this terrible accident. Already in 2011, the bacillus was launched into the ocean. True, now they say that the scientific community was not notified, and the bacterium was sent into the water too quickly, without proper preparation.
At first, the synthetic life form really performed its direct duties. Scientists proudly watched as the oil slick got smaller. And the journalists managed to inform their readers about the invention of a biological cleaner that can rid the ocean of oil that is dangerous for fish and animals. However, it soon became clear that the flammable liquid in this case is the lesser of evils.
Bacteria mutated
Something went wrong fast enough. It was in the laboratory that an artificially created life form was fed only with petroleum products, in the baybacillus was able to taste other delicacies. Having tasted the underwater inhabitants, the Cynthia bacterium mutated. Plankton was the first to catch the "chub", then the bacillus took on the larger inhabitants of the sea.
Cynthia enters the body through small wounds on the body. A feature is its rapid reproduction. In a matter of hours, the bacterium eats away the affected area and moves to “explore” new territories. At the autopsy, it seems that the body simply rotted from the inside.
Back in 2011, fairly large US publications expressed their doubts about the primary function that scientists assigned to the bacterium. There were speculations that, probably, "Cynthia" was originally conceived as a biological weapon, and she got into the ocean by accident.
Who is in danger?
It all started in the Gulf of Mexico, but the bacterium quickly moved across the oceans. Including through rain clouds. Quite quickly they came to the conclusion that the Cynthia bacterium was to blame for the mass death of birds and fish in Arkansas and North Louisiana. Photos of about 100 thousand surfaced fish flew around the world. Studies have shown that the victims suffered the most damage to their internal organs.
At the same time, an unknown disease struck the inhabitants of the Arctic and Alaska. Seals began to die there from a previously unknown disease. Veterinarians could not understand the reason for a long time: the animals did not suffer from infections, and it also did not look like radiation. Then we decided to conduct more in-depth research. Howeverthe world has not yet learned the real results.
"Cynthia" and the man
People who decided to swim in the Gulf of Mexico also died a painful death. In just a few days, ulcers appeared inside the organs, causing internal bleeding. People were dying simply from getting their feet wet in the bay. Sadly, "Cynthia" (bacteria) did not pay attention to age either. Photos of victims published in the media evoke both compassion and disgust.
BP sent its people to clean up the catastrophe. According to unofficial data - and there were never official statistics in this case - 128 workers became infected with the bacillus, however, according to the contract, they were forbidden to go to public clinics.
Scientist-chemist Bob Naman in the same 2011 explained that the bacterium enters the body through an open wound. At the same time, the risk of the disease is higher in women, due to the fact that they have much more mucous membranes in the body.
New generation weapons?
The question arises: if such sad consequences came from the peaceful use of a new form of life, then what is the Cynthia bacterium capable of in wartime? Some scientists believe that such a biological weapon would be, if not more terrible than an atomic bomb, then at least stand on the same level.
And here's why:
- The bacillus is self-reproducing and can multiply rapidly.
- It cannot be destroyed (antibiotics do not work on artificial DNA).
- Bacteria can"travel" over long distances (for example, in the form of precipitation).
That is, once in the blood of a person, it is almost 100% threatening with death. For example, even amputation of the leg may not save the carrier of the bacteria. Another question is whether any nation will dare to use these biological weapons. After all, if the bacterium is so terrible, then everyone will suffer from it.
Is there a threat to Russia?
Paying attention to the fact that the oil spilled in 2010, and the "clean-up" was started in 2011, we can safely say that at the moment the "Cynthia" bacterium is not terrible for Russia. Otherwise, we would have felt the consequences 5 years ago.
Roughly speaking, then there was every reason to believe in a large-scale catastrophe. As everyone remembers from geography lessons, the World Ocean surrounds all parts of the world. There are no borders and dams in it, and they would hardly have saved from a small bacillus. Moreover, the journalists were sure that then "Cynthia" swam to the Gulf Stream, which washes Europe.
Further all the panic news faded away. And here there are two options: either the story about the terrible bacterium was “inflated” out of thin air, or scientists still managed to pacify it. If the second option is true, then in the event of war, Russia, like all other countries, is in danger.
Answer by scientists
The group of scientists who created the artificial bacillus claim that the bacterium "Cynthia" is not involved in the horrors that took place in the Gulf of Mexico and on the shores of the Arctic. According to them, this animal proteinlife form is not able to digest. That is why she both ate oil, which is a product of plant origin, and eats.
On the one hand, such a statement removes responsibility from both scientists and the government, which allowed the release of bacteria into the water. In confirmation of these words, former US President Barack Obama and his family swam in the Gulf of Mexico. Time is also on the side of this statement. More than 5 years have passed since the disaster, and if the journalists who caused panic were right, the immortal "Cynthia" would not have stopped at the dead seals.
On the other hand, there is a possibility that the topic was simply "hushed up" so as not to cause panic. Ordinary mortals do not know what scientists do in closed laboratories. After all, when nuclear weapons were being created, they weren't shouting about them from every podium either.
