To maintain biosecurity in the age of AI, all synthesized DNA sequences should be screened and logged, according to two leading scientists. Such records could be decrypted and scrutinized in the event of a novel biological threat, a practice that may help deter the misuse of biodesign software.
David Baker and George Church — two professors whose research has helped define modern biotechnology — published an editorial in Science this week calling for enhanced screening and universal logging for all manufactured DNA sequences. “This would present a practical barrier to the creation of harmful biomolecules, whether accidental or intentional,” they write.
Their commentary, Protein design meets biosecurity, was published Jan 25 and is excerpted below.
