Washington, Sept. 14 -- Rep. Chrissy Houlahan issued the following press release:
Today, Representative Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06) introduced the bipartisan Biosecurity Modernization and Innovation Act alongside Representative August Pfluger (TX-11) to keep dangerous actors from misusing DNA synthesis technology while keeping America at the forefront of biotechnology.
Gene synthesis has transformed medicine, agriculture, and manufacturing, helping scientists build lifesaving treatments and develop hardier crops. However, these same tools could be misused to create dangerous pathogens if left unchecked. Currently, screening of nucleic acid orders is voluntary, leaving a gap that bad actors could exploit, especially as new desktop machines ma...