Researchers ‘ignorant’ of biosecurity rules, says US academies report

Life sciences research policy in the United States is fragmented, leaving the majority of scientist unaware of biosecurity rules, a report by the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine has found.

Policies governing so-called “dual-use” research in the life sciences—research that could potentially be misused to cause harm—are not sufficient, the report, published on 14 September, found. As a result, most researchers have little knowledge of biosecurity concerns, it said.

Scientists are rarely trained in biosecurity issues early on in their careers, which hampers efforts to implement policies mitigating biosecurity risks, the report found.