Bio-Inspired Innovation and National Security

The present volume reviews and analyzes current research and likely future developments in the life sciences and how they will significantly influence the biological material available to warfighters--not as weapons systems, but as augmentation to currently available equipment. This is the "new" face of biological warfare. The editors of this volume have assembled experts in research, warfighting, and defense policy to describe biological applications from the smallest to the largest scale. In addition, they show how thinking in biological terms can improve our procurement cycle and enhance our development time and costs. Finally, no description of biotechnology would be complete without a consideration of ethical and legal issues related to such research and development. This edited book is an important contribution to the literature and nicely captures a number of ongoing military basic science research projects with long-term implications for the Department of Defense.