LABORATORY SERIES. No.22. DARPA’s new Biological Technologies Office (BTO). Launched in April 1, 2014, the BTO is charged with exploring the intersection of biology, engineering and computer science to harness natural systems for national security. “Biology is nature’s ultimate innovator, and any agency that hangs its hat on innovation would be foolish not to look at this master of networked complexity for inspiration and solutions.” – DARPA Director Arati Prabhakar to U.S. House of Representatives, March 26, 2014. Photo Courtesy of DARPA.
LABORATORY SERIES. No.11. Memo from the Assistant Secretary of Health to the Director of the Center of Disease Control ordering the termination of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, 1972. Conducted by the US Public Health Service and Tuskegee Institute starting in 1932, the study tracked untreated syphilis in 600 African American males. Without informed consent and under the guise of being treated for “Bad Blood,” the subjects were given free medical exams, meals and burial insurance. No patient was aware of having syphilis, and no patient was given treatment for the disease. The experiment led to the establishment of the Office for Human Research Protections. Photo Source: Wikipedia.
