Taming “information hazards” in synthetic biology research
In 2016, synthetic biologists reconstructed a possibly extinct disease, known as horsepox, using mail-order DNA for around $100,000. The experiment was strictly for research purposes, and the disease itself is harmless to humans. But the published results, including the methodology, raised concerns that a nefarious agent, given appropriate resources, could engineer a pandemic. In an op-ed published today in PLOS Pathogens, Media Lab Professor Kevin Esvelt, who develops and studies gene-editing techniques, argues for tighter biosecurity and greater research transparency to keep such “information hazards” — published information that could be used to cause harm — in check. Esvelt spoke with MIT News about his ideas. Q: What are information hazards, and why are they an important topic in synthetic biology? A: Our society is not at ease with this notion that some information is hazardous, but it unfortunately happens to be true. No one believes the blueprints for nuclear weapons should...