Can we stop tomorrow’s terrorists making deadly viruses from scratch? That was the question exercising the minds of 150 biologists and policy specialists who gathered in Washington DC on 4 December to debate a draft report on the new science of “synthetic genomics”.
The draft considers 20 options, highlighting those aimed at “plugging the biggest holes in the current system of governance”. These include educating students about biosecurity and lab safety, and a requirement for companies synthesising DNA to screen their orders for potentially dangerous sequences – which some still fail to do.
“Companies making DNA must screen orders for potentially dangerous sequences”…
