Bioweapons … for dummies?
Recent advances in bioengineering and the rise of open-access literature have made genetic engineering accessible beyond academia. While many synthetic biologists, who fabricate or re-design biological systems, welcome community interest in their discipline, some biosecurity scholars worry that even teenagers can now make bioweapons.
Their concerns are understandable. Bioengineers have already used artificial DNA to reconstruct the polio virus, the 1918 influenza virus, and other pathogens. Even high schools are starting to cover recombinant DNA in their curricula. Meanwhile, a large, unregulated, amateur “biohacking” community has emerged, and its members aim to engineer new organisms that previously could be built only by highly trained scientists. Superficially, at least, it seems plausible that a rogue biohacker could make bioweapons.
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