https://futurism.com/neoscope/infectious...s-security
INTRO: Over the last year, you’ve probably heard a lot about the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), a research laboratory that’s implicated in some theories about how the coronavirus pandemic began.
While the origins of the pandemic remain mysterious, it turns out that a lab leak, or the accidental release of a dangerous pathogen from a research facility, is disturbingly likely, according to an essay in The Conversation penned by King’s College London biological threats researcher Filippa Lentzos and George Mason University biodefense director Gregory Koblentz.
In the essay, the duo say that of the world’s 59 biosafety level 4 (BSL4) labs in the world — facilities that study the most dangerous pathogens out there — only about 25 percent have adequate biosafety and biosecurity protocols in place.
Most countries with BSL4 labs also fail to regulate dual-use research, or experiments on pathogens that are conducted for benevolent purposes but could be misused for malicious or military applications. Also, very few regulate gain-of-function research, which is a field of study that makes pathogens stronger or deadlier... (MORE)
INTRO: Over the last year, you’ve probably heard a lot about the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), a research laboratory that’s implicated in some theories about how the coronavirus pandemic began.
While the origins of the pandemic remain mysterious, it turns out that a lab leak, or the accidental release of a dangerous pathogen from a research facility, is disturbingly likely, according to an essay in The Conversation penned by King’s College London biological threats researcher Filippa Lentzos and George Mason University biodefense director Gregory Koblentz.
In the essay, the duo say that of the world’s 59 biosafety level 4 (BSL4) labs in the world — facilities that study the most dangerous pathogens out there — only about 25 percent have adequate biosafety and biosecurity protocols in place.
Most countries with BSL4 labs also fail to regulate dual-use research, or experiments on pathogens that are conducted for benevolent purposes but could be misused for malicious or military applications. Also, very few regulate gain-of-function research, which is a field of study that makes pathogens stronger or deadlier... (MORE)