* National Research Council issues report identifying needs for microbial forensics of sufficient quality to support legal proceedings and inform government decisions

http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18737

Science Needs for Microbial Forensics:

Initial International Research Priorities (2014)

 

Authors

Committee on Science Needs for Microbial Forensics: Developing an Initial International Roadmap; Board on Life Sciences (BLS); Division on Earth and Life Studies (DELS); National Research Council

Description

Microbial forensics is a scientific discipline dedicated to analyzing evidence from a bioterrorism act, biocrime, or inadvertent microorganism or toxin release for attribution purposes. This emerging discipline seeks to offer investigators the tools and techniques to support efforts to identify the source of a biological threat agent and attribute a biothreat act to a particular person or group. Microbial forensics is still in the early stages of development and faces substantial scientific challenges to continue to build capacity.

 

* Chemical and Physical Signatures for Microbial Forensics (2012) – Excerpt from Preface

******

******

* Humana Press Has Published This 2012 “Chemical and Physical Signatures for Microbial Forensics”; such a treatise is all part of developing microbial forensics to the point where it can be more useful than it has been in the attribution of crimes using pathogens.

******

******

******

* Microbial Forensics … Chapter 30 … Nonbiological measurements on Biological Agents … Stephan P. Velsko

******

if the estimated silicon concentrations in the Amerithrax spores are correct,
they are not consistent with our current understanding of silica deposition
or those materials must have indeed been produced under an unusual set
of conditions. If the latter were true, the silica evidence might provide a significant
bound on the credible growth and production scenarios that would be
consistent with the prosecution narrative in this case

******

* FBI now admits the silicon concentration in the attack anthrax is too high … higher than can be explained by natural occurrence.

Microbial Forensics, Second Edition

Bruce Budowle (Editor), Steven E. Schutzer (Editor), Roger G. Breeze (Editor), Paul S. Keim (Editor), Stephen A. Morse (Editor)

http://www.amazon.com/Microbial-Forensics-Second-Bruce-Budowle/dp/0123820065

******

The second edition of the treatise has just been released

and contains some startling admissions.

The silicon concentration of the Amerithrax spores, long downplayed by the FBI as a “natural occurrence” has finally been discussed in detail.

The FBI scientists finally admit that the concentration of the element silicon found in the attack spores is too high – higher than can be explained by natural occurrence.

Interestingly, the high silicon concentration was discussed in a Wall Street Journal aricle by Ed Epstein:

https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2010/01/25/epstein-wsj-1-24-10-the-fbi-says-ivins-was-the-sole-perpetrator-but-it-has-presented-no-evidence-to-support-that-conclusion-and-the-largest-case-in-fbi-history-is-still-open/

Ed Epstein’s article was disputed days later by FBI lab director Chris Hassell (although he gave no real explanation ahy he was disputing it):

https://caseclosedbylewweinstein.wordpress.com/2010/02/04/fbi-disputes-epsteins-wsj-opinion-piece/

Now things seem to have taken a complete 180 and the new book Microbial Forensics, basically agrees with Ed Epstein’s original article – which stated that the silicon concentration was too high and was not a “natural occurence”.

The book even goes as far as to state that

the high silicon content would have provided a serious problem

had any case against Dr Ivins have gone to court –

it would have affected the “prosecution narrative”.

Quote (from page 513):

“Thus if the estimates silicon concentrations in the Amerithrax spores are correct, they are not consistent with our current understanding of silica deposition or those materials must have indeed been produced under an unusual set of conditions. If the latter were true, the silica evidence might provide a significant bound on the credible growth and production scenarios that would be consistent with the prosecution narrative in this case.”

• Although this is a good step forward by the FBI, they appear to be still downplaying the NYP silicon concentration.
• The AFIP lab report is still not mentioned nor is the >30% silicon content that is found in that sample.

******

LMW COMMENT …

The FBI’s case against Dr. Ivins is clearly bogus: no evidence, no witnesses, an impossible timeline, science that proves innocence instead of guilt. So what really happened? And why doesn’t the FBI offer America a credible story?

I can imagine only 3 possible “actual” scenarios …

1. The FBI has more evidence against Dr. Ivins but is, for some undisclosed reason, withholding that evidence … POSSIBLE BUT NOT SO LIKELY
2. The FBI, despite the most expensive and extensive investigation in its history, has not solved the case and has no idea who prepared and mailed the anthrax letters that killed 5 Americans in 2001 … EVEN LESS LIKELY
3. The FBI knows who did it (not Dr. Ivins) but is covering up the actual perpetrators, for undisclosed reasons … THE MOST LIKELY SCENARIO

The “fictional” scenario in my novel CASE CLOSED has been judged by many readers, including a highly respected official in the U.S. Intelligence Community, as perhaps more plausible than the FBI’s unproven assertions regarding Dr. Ivins.

* buy CASE CLOSED at amazon *

******