Publication

Biological weapons are not prominent in current threat analyses, though this might change with advances in biotechnology, and in synthetic biology in particular. If the synthetic construction and modification of bacteria and viruses becomes a reality, a broad range of useful applications in medicine, environmental protection, and other fields would be facilitated. At the same time, however, constructing biological weapons could also become easier, with the necessary skills available to a larger spectrum of actors. It seems advisable to explore preventive countermeasures at an early stage.