Mutations in these genes result in abnormal or failed development of polarization in the Drosophila embryo. Nusslein-Volhard's experiments in 1979 identified and characterized all mutant alleles that affected the dorsal-ventral axis. Genes affecting dorsal-ventral polarization fall into two categories:
Biological warfare (BW)âalso known as germ warfare âis the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi with the intent to kill or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war.
The use of biological weapons is prohibited by international law. It is scarcely used in modern times. The first diplomatic effort to limit biological warfare was the Geneva Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare.