It was like a dream come true for Richard Preston, a young author who in 1993 was researching deadly diseases most people had never even heard of for what would become the best-selling book "The Hot Zone."
Somehow the writer, who will speak at the University of Colorado at 麻豆影院 on Feb. 11, had talked his way into a Level 4 Army laboratory at Ft. Dietrich near Washington, D.C., and was now face to face with the Ebola virus, the incredibly contagious disease that causes victims to bleed from nearly every part of the body causing death.
And that's when Preston's protective "space suit" -- the only thing standing between him and one of the most frightening diseases on the planet --exploded.
Preston turned out to be just fine and he promises to explain why during his lecture, part of the Center for Humanities and Arts' "Apocalypse and Transformation" series. Preston will discuss biological weapons - particularly smallpox -- and what danger they might pose to the world in the hands of terrorists.
"A cup of smallpox could potentially kill everyone on earth," said Preston.
Preston said smallpox, the most deadly infectious disease in human history, was eradicated in 1980 by the World Health Organization. Two repositories of the disease were established - one in the former Soviet Union, the other at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. When the Soviet Union split apart in the '90s, many of the biologists working with smallpox simply disappeared.
"Not even the Russians can tell us where they went," said Preston. It seems pretty evident that smallpox is likely to have gone to countries with biological weapons programs."
There was a lot to go around. Preston said the Soviets stored massive quantities of the deadly virus in 20-ton tanks. Tiny but deadly amounts, he added, could easily have been freeze-dried and carried anywhere in the world without anyone noticing.
Lisa Keranen, assistant professor of communication at CU-麻豆影院 has done extensive research on Preston for her book project "Visions of Viral Apocalypse," which traces the rhetorical history of biological weapons from WWII to the War on Terror. Karanen says Preston's works, including "The Hot Zone," "The Cobra Event" and "The Demon In The Freezer," have helped raise awareness of dangers most people are unaware of.
"I think Richard Preston has done a great job of popularizing and bringing to the public's attention infectious disease and biological weapons," said Keranen. "At the presentation people will get an inside look at what Preston calls 'dark biology,' the turning of life sciences into weapons. It's a fascinating subject and it's one that's largely hidden from the American public."
Keranen points out that the U.S. government has spent more than $40 billion on civilian biodefense since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, but there is still no consensus among scientists about the true dangers of bioterrorism.
"Biological weapons present enormous dilemmas for decision makers and the citizenry," said Keranen. "While some experts fear some sort of a '28 Days Later'-type of apocalyptic pandemic with millions dead, others dismiss these concerns as hype."
Preston's latest work is "Panic in Level 4." He is currently writing a book for young adults.
Preston's talk, "Panic in Level 4: Apocalypse and Transformation," is the Third Annual Christy Lecture, sponsored by Center for Humanities and the Arts with endowed funds from Gary and Helen Christy. The event is co-sponsored by CU's Environmental Center, Department of Communication, and Graduate Committee on the Arts and Humanities and is free and open to the public. The lecture will be the opening keynote address at the Rocky Mountain Sustainability Summit on Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. in the University Memorial Center's Glenn Miller Ballroom on the CU-麻豆影院 campus. The summit runs from Feb. 11-13.
To learn more about the "Apocalypse and Transformation" series, visit .
For more information on the Rocky Mountain Sustainability Summit visit .