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The Risks of Manufactured Viruses - Dr. Kevin Esvelt

Can biotechnology be used in malevolent ways? The simple and inexpensive ways to generate genetic material make creating viruses easier than ever. Dr Kevin Esvelt from MIT's Media Lab discusses how DNA could be used to drive a new pandemic, or become the basis of biological weapons. The discussion addresses the realistic potential malevolent use of biological tools, the risk of molecular biology tools being weaponized, along with potential mitigation strategies.

Jan 14, 2023 by Dr. Kevin Folta in Talking Biotech

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What are the risks associated with being able to create custom DNA? Today's podcast discusses the potential weaponization of synthesized nucleic acid sequences. Dr. Kevin Esvelt discusses synthetic DNA and synthetic viruses, along with the possibility that they may drive the next pandemics or become the basis for future biological weapons. The dark realities are discussed, along with surveillance and mitigation strategies, as well as the broken social trust that could fuel a human-made pandemic.

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