The government knew of the danger too. On Sept. 5, Donald A. Henderson, director of the Center for Civilian Biodefense Studies at Johns Hopkins University, told Congress "biological weapons are a significant threat." But once again, mainstream media are jumping on a life science story as if it sprung from the proverbial ether, much as it did for cloning in 1996 and stem cells in 1998.
While the press and public, not to mention various government officials, struggle to distinguish bacteria from viruses, antibiotics from antibodies, and viruses from vaccines, an underlying message is emerging: As a nation, our science illiteracy has gone from mere embarrassment to a life-threatening problem.
Alas, the U.S postal service's taxonomic designation of anthrax as "poison in the mail" was still the stuff of headlines in early November, conjuring up images of Snow White biting into an apple laced with bacterial spores.
Moving up the ...
