DNA firms step up security over bioterrorism threat
Until recently, designer DNA companies were rather relaxed about who was buying their products, and many refused to check their orders for potentially dangerous DNA sequences; this is changing, and the industry association in which many of these companies are members is leading a drive to increase security
Not a moment too soon. A group of “designer DNA” companies is stepping up security to counter fears that terrorists could order the genes needed to make a deadly virus. In 2005 New Scientist reported that some gene synthesis companies were not checking their orders for potentially dangerous DNA sequences. Since then, the U.S. National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity has called for better screening. Now the magazine reports that the Industry Association of Synthetic Biology (IASB) says that its members will carry a seal of approval on their Web sites confirming that they do screen their orders. This is to encourage researchers to order DNA only from these companies, and put pressure on the minority of firms that cut costs by not screening to change.
IASB members will cooperate to improve the software used to identify suspicious orders and will set up a secure database detailing which DNA sequences make pathogens highly virulent. “The fact that they’re going to share their experiences is really important,” says Stephen Maurer, a lawyer at the University of California, Berkeley, who helped write the industry guidelines.
