Are Countries Prepared for the Increasing Threat of Engineered Bioweapons?

Harvard Business Review  June 18, 2018
The low cost and do-it-yourself accessibility of genomic technologies makes it possible for weapons to be deployed by almost any aggressor. If a highly contagious agent were released in a major city, it could spread far and wide and kill thousands before it is even clear what is happening and we would likely have a window of only several weeks to prevent it from causing a global catastrophe. Responding effectively to such threats will require a paradigm shift towards approaches that are faster and more agile and decentralized approaches underpinned by new technologies are needed. Diagnostic and treatment functions closer to where people live with less need for specialized personnel and infrastructure that cannot be scaled need to be developed… read more.