Biosecurity Demands Resilience

摘要

Synthetic biology technologies like gene editing and genetic engineering are creating a proliferation of breakthroughs in engineered biological systems that will change our world in areas ranging from medicine, to textiles, to energy. While such advances could significantly improve standards of living, these technologies have the potential to pose serious biological threats. Mitigating these risks within the confines of existing risk management frameworks, originally developed for different circumstances, currently leaves us unprepared and vulnerable in the face of synthetic biology's potentially negative environmental consequences. Strategies of risk assessment and resilience, or the ability to prevent and to detect and recover from harmful releases of genetically engineered organisms before they permanently alter the environment, must now be developed for robust 21st Century biosecurity.