Synthetic Biology/ RFID's

[Writerstew]

Hi there. I am an aspiring Science fiction novelist looking for some help. I was wondering, if anyone would be willing to answer a few questions. I am completely clueless here, but basically the concept is this. Using RFID technology, what are the possibilties regarding synthetic biology? What if Craig Venter's ideas fell into the wrong hands. Worst case scenario, particularly regarding weaponization of this technology. I'm looking for a virus that can be weaponized and implanted unknowingly via RFID's. Any ideas would be welcome.

Thanks in advance

http://www.spychips....rfid_powde.html

http://www.nytimes.c...nce/21cell.html

[Schrödinger's hat]

Hi there. I am an aspiring Science fiction novelist looking for some help. I was wondering, if anyone would be willing to answer a few questions. I am completely clueless here, but basically the concept is this. Using RFID technology, what are the possibilties regarding synthetic biology? What if Craig Venter's ideas fell into the wrong hands. Worst case scenario, particularly regarding weaponization of this technology. I'm looking for a virus that can be weaponized and implanted unknowingly via RFID's. Any ideas would be welcome.

Thanks in advance

http://www.spychips....rfid_powde.html

http://www.nytimes.c...nce/21cell.html

 

Umm, not sure what you mean here. RFID chips are usually microchips that are powered by an external field. I do not see how this could relate to a virus or synthetic biology.

One could, perhaps, use one to activate a container that had a sample of a pathogen? Then there is the problem of getting the container into the person (much harder than, say, an airborne virus.

Any wholly created organism is going to be a bit like the new kid in a school full of bullies. With a little more technology I suppose could engineer a virus from scratch (but why bother, when there are so many that work quite well already?).

Incorporating an rfid chip in any type of cell would be difficult, as they need to be large enough for an antenna (I cannot think of a way of making an antenna for anything that will penetrate skin that is much under 1 mm).

[Writerstew]

Thanks so much for your reply. The idea is to find a virus that has a marked dormancy period, can be encapsulated and implanted subcutaneously. A virus that infects the brain(preferably -Hypothalamus/ amygdala regions). Though it will be featured in a work of fiction, my limited knowledge is a hindering factor. This is years in the future, a mutated virus that can be weaponized and used to control the targeted victim. Any ideas/ help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

 

Umm, not sure what you mean here. RFID chips are usually microchips that are powered by an external field. I do not see how this could relate to a virus or synthetic biology.

One could, perhaps, use one to activate a container that had a sample of a pathogen? Then there is the problem of getting the container into the person (much harder than, say, an airborne virus.

Any wholly created organism is going to be a bit like the new kid in a school full of bullies. With a little more technology I suppose could engineer a virus from scratch (but why bother, when there are so many that work quite well already?).

Incorporating an rfid chip in any type of cell would be difficult, as they need to be large enough for an antenna (I cannot think of a way of making an antenna for anything that will penetrate skin that is much under 1 mm).

[Mr Skeptic]

Your mind control idea would be better off with just the chip and no viruses. It would in theory be possible with very carefully placed electrodes, but we're nowhere near the necessary level of technology.

[Schrödinger's hat]

Well something that would be a bit more plausible (and has bonus ick factor to boot) is a genetically modified parasite. There are numerous examples of everything from single celled creatures, to fungi, to invertebrates inducing their hosts to perform unusual actions (look up liver flukes for a good place to start, they're not the most interesting but it is the only name I recall off hand). The nervous systems controlled are usually very simple, but we can take liberties in a scifi. The most complex behaviours I can think of are spiders spinning a specialised web for the parasite after it hatches, and caterpillars guarding the parasite after it leaves the host, while it pupates.

 

If one had the precise control over a genome required to get specific responses out of a human brain, then I do not see getting the parasite to develop an antenna being a problem.

 

In terms of what such a parasite could achieve I suppose it would depend on how advanced the civilisation is.

 

Things that I see as being possible with technology not exceeding today's by very far would be:

Giving the host an overpowering urge to move (go forward/left etc);

Turning them violent;

Making them much more likely to trust whoever they were talking to;

Altering emotions in general, but not very precisely (ie. causing them to hate someone by altering emotions whenever they are present);

Training/programming behaviour or altering beliefs (ie. altering neurotransmitters to produce a Pavlovian response, or putting them in a receptive frame of mind}

Causing specific hallucinations, visual hallucinations would not be easy to interpret without training (or further knowledge).

 

Slightly more advanced but still plausible some time later this century:

Direct control of body (probably quite clumsy);

Determining in a general sense what they are thinking about;

Altering thoughts and emotions on a finer scale, such as making them hungry when the topic of thought is cars (both of these would probably require extensive (years of?) observation, data, and fine tuning by an operator);

 

I do not see reading or setting a specific thought as being anywhere near the same scale of technology (ie. kill john smith using the rifle hidden in the basement on december 14th).

 

If the technology in the setting is advanced enough to have had strong AI for a few decades (post singularity type setting) then I suppose any type of control is possible. Nanobots would probably be about as likely as a biological agent (although whether there would be a distinction is unclear).

 

One thought that comes to mind is Toxoplasmosis. It is a parasite that breeds in the gut of cats. Infected mice will be less fearful of cats, and ignore cat urine to a large extent.

There has been some research indicating that humans infected with it will be more prone to take risks.

Incubation time or remote activation could be induced in a number of ways. Air or water borne drugs seem to be the simplest.

Edited January 29, 2011 by Schrödinger's hat

[Mrs Zeta]

Your mind control idea would be better off with just the chip and no viruses. It would in theory be possible with very carefully placed electrodes, but we're nowhere near the necessary level of technology.

 

This prof was able to communicate his 'thoughts' to his wife, via a chip placed in their arm (we met only yesterday and he confirmed this).

 

http://www.kevinwarwick.com/Cyborg2.htm

(particularly this paragraph: In addition to being able to measure the nerve signals transmitted along the nerve fibres in Professor Wariwck’s left arm, the implant was also able to create artificial sensation by stimluating via individual electrodes within the array. This bi-directional functionality was demonstrated with the aid of Kevin’s wife Irena and a second, less complex implant connecting to her nervous system).

[Ringer]

Warwick hasn't had the best field record

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2000/12/11/kevin_warwick_a_life/

[Writerstew]

Some great ideas here. Thanks so much for your time. I will have to regroup and try to figure out if one of these might work with the planned plot structure, or I may have to start over. Again, many thanks.