Genome Editing and Biological Weapons
Genome Editing and Biological Weapons: Assessing the Risk of Misuse
English | 2023 | ISBN: 3031218191 | 281 Pages | PDF (True) | 7 MB
English | 2023 | ISBN: 3031218191 | 281 Pages | PDF (True) | 7 MB
This monograph introduces current genome editing technologies—clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-CRISPR-associated (Cas) systems, transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), and zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs)—and provides an assessment of the risk of misuse of these technologies based on the following parameters: accessibility, ease of misuse, magnitude of potential harm, and imminence of potential misuse. The findings from this assessment are applied to analyze and evaluate the threat posed by the intentional misuse of genome editing technologies to develop biological weapons. Furthermore, the book discusses the implications of misuse for different applications of genome editing, such as making existing pathogens more dangerous, modifying the human microbiome, weaponizing gene drives, engineering super soldiers, and augmenting the general population to confer economic advantages.