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Sep. 18th, 2016|06:10 pm |
• Heinz Brücher, (1916–1991), an expatriate German botanist, was murdered in Argentina, allegedly the victim of a burglar. At that time, he was working on a viral disease (the Estalla virus) to eradicate the coca plant, thus challenging the interests of the cocaine trade in the Andes, and there is suspicion that the cocaine barons arranged his assassination.
Although many consider eliminating plant species to be a special branch of biological warfare, nevertheless Brücher was seemingly a respectable and accomplished researcher.
However, a report (Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter , vol. 129, pp. 54–57, 2002) revealed that in the 1940s he led a special Nazi troop with the purpose of stealing valuable seeds for breeding purposes from the conquered nations of Europe, a phenomenon now called “biopiracy” (see Chapter 1), and another example of questionable scientific activity. |
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