Security

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Revision as of 20:55, 10 September 2012 by MChowdhury (Talk | contribs)



Preventing Malign Use

Securing biology is not a simple task. It is not something those outside biology could, or should, do alone. Equally, this is not something that biologists can do by themselves (our focus, as the name implies is on the biology). This is a truly interdisciplinary problem - one that means we will need to work together, in new ways, with new partners, to find an approach that provides benefits for all. Given the interdisciplinary nature of synthetic biology, and the experience the community has in drawing in people from different backgrounds, we are well placed to position ourselves in the vanguard of those thinking about how science interacts with society and to help write the rules which will govern this ‘century of biology’.

As a participant in iGEM, there are three things you can do right now to help us secure our science:

  1. Fully answer the safety questions that demonstrates that you have thought about how others could misuse your work
  2. Contribute to community discussions on what needs to go into a code against the use of our science for hostile purposes (see A Community Response)
  3. Look into what security provisions, such as laws and regulations, are already in place in your country (see Working within the Law)