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Report Urges International Cooperation to Prevent Misuse of Life Science Advances
A new report by the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine of the U.S. National Academies found that international cooperation is needed to confront the risk that advances in life sciences could be used to make new biological weapons (see GSN, Dec. 12, 2005). The report suggests new measures be undertaken to identify and counter these risks within the next five to 10 years, according to a National Academies release. “Our increasingly interdependent global society needs a broad array of integrated, decisive actions to successfully anticipate and manage the potential misuse of biomedical research and the technologies it generates,” Stanley Lemon of the University of Texas Medical Branch and co-chairman of the committee that wrote the report, said in the release. “The opportunities to inflict harm are unparalleled.” The report states that scientists should become more aware of the range of biological threats, which include new approaches for killing a host organism and for production of synthetic microorganisms. “U.S. national biodefense programs currently focus on a relatively small number of specific agents or toxins, but gains in biomedical understanding have raised major concerns about the next generation of biowarfare agents,” said Stanford University medical professor and committee co-chairman David Relman in the release. “We need to expand our thinking about the nature of future biological threats, as well as more fully exploit advances in the life sciences to create a global public health defense that is agile and flexible.” The report also recommends an advisory board be formed to predict and analyze scientific advances and to keep intelligence agencies and government officials informed of the shifts. While the Health and Human Services Department has recently formed the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity to deal with “dual-use” technologies, the new board would focus solely on anticipating new biological weapons. Also included were recommendations to add scientific personnel to intelligence agencies to add expertise in biological weapons. Vaccine development also needs to be advanced through the exchange of research and scientific data. U.S. policies should also promote the exchange of scientists across international borders for training in the United States. A code of ethics for those researchers working in the life sciences, with small groups of scientists and government officials ensuring the code is followed, is also needed to monitor the potential misuse of emerging science, the report states. Even if all of the recommendations in the report were accepted, it would not guarantee that life sciences advances would not be used improperly. In case of an attack, the U.S. public health infrastructure needs to be strengthened to improve detection of biological weapons and disease outbreaks. Better communication between local, state and federal health agencies is also needed, according to the report (National Academies release, Jan. 31).
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