Quote:
Originally posted by Seraph:
quote:
Societal order beyond a "pack" is unique to humans.
|
What about ants? and bees?
Quote:
|
If your point of view includes the matter of our success as a species in varying environments and in competition with other species, then we are indeed superior.
|
Actually, wouldnt bacteria then be the superior species on earth? They can survive in climats that humans can only dream of.
Quote:
|
But still I can not understand why scientists still are allowed to produce and alter a virus as dangerous as smallpox
|
They arn't. There were at one point only supposed to be two samples left in the world. Becides, I think that the fact that the US was ready to bomb Iraq over it shows that its generally not looked favorably on.
The thing I dont understand is why there havent been millions of smallpox vacines produced in this now over year old terrorism scare. Its not that hard to do really.[/QUOTE]Ants and bees? I suppose you can compare them to us if you want to. If you do, they possibly have first dibs on the social order. I seem to remember reading a fictional book once about a society of hive minded humans that was pretty creepy.
Bacteria? Not so! With the proper tools, we can survive almost any environment. From the complete vacuum of space, to the high pressure of the deep seas. We can augment our senses to see things outside the ability of any creature. Tools can allow us to do anything we want to. No other animal has such a broad range of adaptability.
Actually, the smallpox vaccine is quite crude, if effective. It's a weak virus very similar to virulent smallpox that's cultured in calves. Basically, you get a scratch from a cluster of small needles dirtied with cow blister pus. If it wasn't for the existence of this varient of the virus, we'd have problems. If someone manages to mutate the smallpox virus, vaccinations will no longer be effective.