Our picksInsect army for crop protection; facial recognition future; Google Plus bug, and more

The Pentagon is studying an insect army to defend crops. Critics fear a bioweapon. (Joel Achenbach, Washington Post)
DARPA’s Insect Allies program is studying whether insects can be enlisted to combat crop loss during agricultural emergencies. The bugs would carry genetically engineered viruses that could be deployed rapidly if critical crops such as corn or wheat became vulnerable to a drought, a natural blight or a sudden attack by a biological weapon.
A team of skeptical scientists and legal scholars published an article in the journal Science on Thursday arguing that the Insect Allies program opens a “Pandora’s box” and involves technology that “may be widely perceived as an effort to develop biological agents for hostile purposes and their means of delivery.” A website created by the critics puts their objection more bluntly: “The DARPA program is easily weaponized.”

A controversial virus study reveals a critical flaw in how science is done (Ed Yong, The Atlantic)
After researchers resurrected a long-dead pox, some critics argue that it’s too easy for scientists to make decisions of global consequence. The problem is that scientists are not trained to reliably anticipate the consequences of their work. They need counsel from ethicists, medical historians, sociologists, and community representatives—but these groups are often left out from the committees that currently oversee dual-use research.

Why scientists should be tracking a catastrophic pig disease (Maryn McKenna, Wired)
We should be paying attention to African swine fever, and not just because it threatens a major food source and billions of dollars in international trade. We should be paying attention because, though it’s an animal-only disease, human inattention is driving this epidemic. Our vast networks of food production and distribution, and consumption and waste disposal, are making an already grave situation worse.

When anthrax-laced letters terrorized the nation (Sarah Pruitt, History)
Who sent the series of letters in the wake of the 9/11 attacks? Investigators zeroed-in on a possible culprit.

Winning Like War: A conversation about social media and conflict with Peter Singer (Patrick Tucker, Defense One)
A new book looks at how “likes” and lies are reshaping the nature of war and peace around the globe. We sat down with the author.

What the future of facial recognition means for law enforcement (Sidney Fussell, The Atlantic)
For the first time, police have compelled a suspect to unlock his phone using Face ID. The case reveals an interesting inversion: More advanced password technology is less protected from police seizure.

The newest password technology is making your phone easier for police to search (Sidney Fussell, The Atlantic)
For the first time, police have compelled a suspect to unlock his phone using Face ID. The case reveals an interesting inversion: More advanced password technology is less protected from police seizure.

Why Google could be in trouble over the Google Plus bug (April Glaser, Slate)
Its decision not to disclose a vulnerability may have violated a Federal Trade Commission consent decree—and the consequences could be expensive.