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C_332,652H_492,388N_98,245O_131,196P₇₅₀₁S₂₃₄₀. Any guesses as to the chemical designated by this formula? It is, in fact, poliovirus. While we usually think of viruses as biological entities, Eckard Wimmer of Stony Brook University in New York state uses this formula to underscore the fact that poliovirus can now be synthesised in the lab. When he first demonstrated this in 2002, it was clear that the same technology could help terrorists manufacture viruses such as smallpox, but Wimmer’s team has also shown that viral synthesis can be…