Columns | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

The furor over genetically modified foods

Laura H. Kahn — Wed, 14 May 2008 00:00:00 -0600

The United Nations estimates that world population will top 9 billion people by 2050. Combined with the anticipated consequences of global warming such as drought, this could lead to devastating food shortages.

The new nuclear abolitionists

Hugh Gusterson — Tue, 13 May 2008 09:50:00 -0600

Twenty-five years ago, the Nuclear Freeze campaign mobilized hundreds of thousands of Americans to demand an end to the testing, production, and deployment of new nuclear weapons. At that time, advocating the complete abolition of nuclear weapons was a fringe position confined to a few utopians on the left. Even most antinuclear activists struggled getting past the "you can't put the genie back in the bottle" common sense of pundits and arms control experts.

Missed opportunities at the chemical weapons treaty meeting

Malcolm Dando — Mon, 12 May 2008 11:08:00 -0600

Prior to the Chemical Weapons Convention's (CWC) Second Review Conference last month, several attempts were made to raise the issue of the potential for incapacitating chemical agents to skirt the convention's rules. Despite these efforts, when the convention adjourned in mid-April, little had been done to address the issue.

Getting U.S. foreign assistance right

Gordon Adams — Fri, 02 May 2008 17:17:00 -0600

The United States badly needs to get its act together in promoting its national interests and national security objectives. And it badly needs to "rebalance" its statecraft toolkit, so U.S. civilian tools can perform their missions. Currently, too much of the domestic dialogue about our role in the world has focused on near-term security problems--namely, defeating Al Qaeda and stabilizing and reconstructing Iraq and Afghanistan.

Getting scientists involved in arms control

Malcolm Dando — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:13:00 -0600

Earlier this month Macedonian Amb. Georgi Avramchev addressed the "Second International Forum on Biosecurity" in Budapest and stressed the importance of including scientists and scientific organizations in the proceedings of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWC). Delegations at BWC meetings have always included scientific experts, but Avramchev confirmed what many in attendance knew to be true, that scientists had not always been given the time or opportunity to contribute their expertise adequately.

The realities of nuclear fuel supply guarantees

Pavel Podvig — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 12:17:00 -0600

Virtually any discussion regarding the security implications of the spread of nuclear power involves the need to build a mechanism that would ensure a guaranteed, uninterrupted supply of nuclear fuel for new nuclear power plants.

In pursuit of international biosecurity oversight

Laura H. Kahn — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 11:39:00 -0600

Without a doubt, the implementation of bioresearch oversight must be an international effort. The United States has tried to take the lead in this area by mandating its National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity to foster international collaboration when reviewing dual-use bioresearch.

The "public" discussion about the Energy Department's Complex Transformation

Hugh Gusterson — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 23:00:00 -0600

On Tuesday, the Energy Department held public hearings in Washington on its plans to "transform" the U.S. nuclear weapons complex. Last time I went to Energy headquarters I was turned away because I wasn't a U.S. citizen. (See "Misadventures at the U.S. Energy Department.") This time they let me in without inquiring about my citizenship; they even let me roam the halls unescorted to look for a bathroom. Go figure.

The true cost of U.S. defense spending

Gordon Adams — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 01:00:00 -0600

With the likelihood of significant political change in January 2009, the Pentagon has been thinking a lot about next year's defense budget request (fiscal year 2010), which the new president will inherit when it's sent to Congress in February 2009. Budget planners and senior leaders in the Defense Department and armed forces face four possible options:

The Dutch experiment with a biosecurity code of conduct

Malcolm Dando — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 23:00:00 -0600

In recent years, scientists and security experts have advocated for codes of conduct as a means to prevent the modern life sciences from being misused for hostile purposes--the so-called dual-use problem. But how exactly would such codes work, and how would they be received by the scientific community? The implementation of a code of conduct in the Netherlands in mid-2007 serves as an example of what can be expected.

The potential dangers in medical isotope production

Laura H. Kahn — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 23:00:00 -0600

The medical isotope metastable technetium 99 emits gamma rays that physicians heavily rely upon to examine how organs such as hearts, lungs, and kidneys function. Technetium 99 is so beneficial to the medical community that it's used in approximately 80-85 percent of the world's diagnostic imaging procedures (cardiac perfusion scans and bone scans among them) and 12 million procedures in the United States alone. The size of the global nuclear imaging and therapeutics market is estimated at $3.7 billion per year.

The U.S. satellite shootdown: An unnecessary action

Pavel Podvig — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 23:00:00 -0700

The intercept of the disabled USA-193 spy satellite the United States conducted on February 20 set a new benchmark for military exercises that have no benefits, but come at a tremendous political cost. The intercept topped even the U.S. decision to deploy missile defense installations in Poland and the Czech Republic as an ill-advised maneuver that could only bring scores of suspicion and mistrust--exactly what the deployments inspired in Russia, where missile defense now poisons virtually every other issue in U.S.-Russian relations.

U.S. nuclear double standards

Hugh Gusterson — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 23:00:00 -0700

As seen from Pakistan, U.S. nuclear weapons policies present troubling trends; an exclusive interview with the irreverent Brig. Gen. Atta M. Iqhman.

New funds for foreign aid

Gordon Adams — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 23:00:00 -0700

Observers declared the new Bush administration budget request dead on arrival because it contains only a $70 billion request for Iraq and Afghanistan, assumes the president's tax cuts will be extended, and cuts Medicare. When it comes to security spending, however, Congress should seize the opportunity to begin rebalancing the tools of U.S. statecraft. The 8.5 percent increase proposed for diplomacy and foreign assistance promises to begin the process of strengthening U.S. civilian instruments, which badly need reform and additional funds.

A Pakistani view of U.S. nuclear weapons

Hugh Gusterson — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 23:00:00 -0700

Before the United States criticizes Pakistan and other countries about the security of their nuclear arsenals, Washington should make sure its safeguards system is foolproof.

Stethoscopes belong in museums

Laura H. Kahn — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 23:00:00 -0700

A common criticism of today's high cost of medicine is that physicians rely too often on advanced technologies such as CT scans and MRI machines to make diagnoses. Much of the overuse is blamed on perverse insurance-industry incentives that pay for these costly services.

The truth about Russia's military "resurgence"

Pavel Podvig — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 23:00:00 -0700

Prideful talk of new missiles, submarines, and bombers actually reveals weak Russian leadership and a stubborn military-industrial complex that's preparing to fight yesterday's wars.

How much defense spending is enough?

Gordon Adams — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 23:00:00 -0700

In 2008, the United States will spend more than $600 billion on defense, including funding for the Iraq War. If Congress adds the remainder of what President George W. Bush has requested for Iraq and Afghanistan, spending will top $700 billion.

Public health lessons from virtual game worlds

Laura H. Kahn — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 23:00:00 -0700

It's challenging to model disease spread during epidemics. Simple mathematical models such as the "general epidemic" model make assumptions about constant population size, homogeneous mixing, and constant recovery rates, but can only go so far in predicting an outbreak's severity (See "Mathematical Modeling of Epidemics").

The growing number of immunocompromised

Laura H. Kahn — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 23:00:00 -0700

It's estimated that about 10 million people in the United States (3.6 percent of the population) are immunocompromised. But that's likely an underestimate because it only includes those with HIV/AIDS (diagnosed and undiagnosed), organ transplant recipients, and cancer patients; there's a sizable population that takes immunosuppressive drugs for other disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease.