NationStates Jolt Archive

Im thinking of developing a bio weapon that kills plant life but im not sure whether it would it be easier to make it a virus or a biological agent. So heres the general idea of the weapon tell me what you think.

I want it to poison soil and kill all forms of plant life. I want the effects to be somewhat permanenet in the effected areas.
But I also want a way to regulate it from spreading so it just doesnt take over everything. I have no idea how to do that with a virus, but with bacteria I could just engineer the agent to stop reproducing after so many generations.

Anyone have any suggestions how I could either make this a virus or improve on the basic design?

short of rendering the area to glass, you aren't going to find a permanent soltution.

but to answer the fundamental question that you are asking. it is something like this. the more control you want over the effects and duration of the effects the more complex the orangism.

so give the very broad specs you are given go with a bacteria. but personally i would find a chemical that will dissolve..., nuts i used to know what is what call. that chemical that make sup something like 80 percent of the cell walls in plants.

cloraform (sp?)

The Bagu Bagu?

Always working on chemical and biological weapons.

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-Virus-based Weapons: will affect plants of a certain type, as narrow as a subspecies (somewhat difficult) or as wide as all plants (difficult). Problem is transmission...somewhat difficult to ensure proper spread.

-Bacterium-based Weapons: wide spread, wide effect. Problem is a lack of control, as bacteria are wont to move...by controlling the motility of each individual bacterial strain, however, you can limit their spread (but this also probably means slow spread to plants. Would enter through the roots, killing the roots and hence the plants.

-Chemical-based Weapons: Varying spread, varying effect. Will not spread or continue to assault plants already resistant.

One item that is sure to kill plants is seeding the ground with common table salt...which makes it impossible for agricultural plantlife to survive. Trees might survive if they have deep root systems. Impossible to remove and has lasting effects. But this demands tactical control of territory.

Another possibility is good ol' defoliants, but those demand fly-overs and can be expensive.

A virus will attack the function of a plant.

A bacterium will attack the plant with chemicals produced locally...either directly or indirectly.

A chemical will burn throught the plant or inhibit its normal function.

Well, you could make it be a bacteria that eats carbon and excreets arsonic, although this would work on all organisms. Also, I'm not exactly sure what the chemestry behind that would be.

Anyway, definately make it a bacteria if you want it to excreet poison. To my knowledge, virii don't excreet anything except their genetic code.

Well, you could make it be a bacteria that eats carbon and excreets arsonic,
That would require the arsenic to already be there.
I'm rather fond of viroids, but I don't think they'd be good for what you want, being rather hard to control and all. I'd go with lysergic bacteria. (Bacteria with the genome of a virus embedded in their own genome, usually dormant and allowing itself to be replicated whenever the bacteria reproduces, but killing the bacteria at some trigger.)

Well, you could make it be a bacteria that eats carbon and excreets arsonic,
That would require the arsenic to already be there.
I'm rather fond of viroids, but I don't think they'd be good for what you want, being rather hard to control and all. I'd go with lysergic bacteria. (Bacteria with the genome of a virus embedded in their own genome, usually dormant and allowing itself to be replicated whenever the bacteria reproduces, but killing the bacteria at some trigger.)


ooooh that sounds nice.

My fellow nation, why just kill plant life when you can kill enemy humans.

My fellow nation, why just kill plant life when you can kill enemy humans?

My fellow nation, why just kill plant life when you can kill enemy humans?

well sometimes I want the people to starrve to death

See, if it was me I'd just use nanites, but bacteria is another thing altogether.

nanites cost too much espicially self replicating

nanites cost too much espicially self replicatingTrue, but they're worth it. They're ALWAYS worth it.

I think for your problem you need to engineer or borrow from other ecosystems, other plants. for instance, algea imported from another eco system and with no natural enemy in the new, can wreck havoc on the water eco system More so even with a few genetic alterations, and since you want to starve people, make them toxic.

An efficient chemical killing insects would make for another good option, plants rely on insects for polonation, while animal life would suffer as entoxicated insects enter the foodchain

My fellow nation, why just kill plant life when you can kill enemy humans?

well sometimes I want the people to starrve to death

I like that idea, reducing the enemy into their true subhumanity, with starvation and cannibalism.

My fellow nation, why just kill plant life when you can kill enemy humans?

well sometimes I want the people to starrve to death

I like that idea, reducing the enemy into their true subhumanity, with starvation and cannibalism.

My fellow nation, why just kill plant life when you can kill enemy humans?

well sometimes I want the people to starrve to death

I like that idea, reducing the enemy into their true subhumanity, with starvation and cannibalism.

My fellow nation, why just kill plant life when you can kill enemy humans?

well sometimes I want the people to starrve to death

I like that idea, reducing the enemy into their true subhumanity, with starvation and cannibalism.
mwuahhahahah!