Anthrax genomes compared for terrorism clues

To help find out who launched the first major bioterrorism attack in the United States, scientists have compared the DNA of the anthrax bacterium that killed a man in Florida last October with the DNA of a version of the bacterium commonly studied in laboratories. The comparison revealed only a few subtle genetic differences between the two strains. The analysis confirms that the Florida strain has the same origin as the laboratory version, but it doesn’t pinpoint a specific source.