Do CRISPR And Biotech Advances Pose A National Security Threat?

CRISPR and gene editing techniques have triggered both excitement and ethical debates. Now senior advisors to the President are highlighting the risk they pose to biodefense.

In a Nov. 15 letter, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) call for an advancement of the nation’s biodefense strategy, in line with the technological changes that are impacting the biotechnology field.

“The U.S. Government’s past ways of thinking and organizing to meet biological threats need to change to reflect and address this rapidly-developing landscape,” the authors state.