How to stop bioterrorists from buying dangerous DNA

Imagine you work for a hypothetical gene synthesis company, one of dozens around the world that manufacture tiny strands of custom nucleic acids like DNA for customers in academia and industry. DNA isn’t just the basis for life on Earth—it’s also the basis of many research laboratories. Plastic tubes of DNA are a familiar sight for many researchers, from students in undergraduate biology labs to scientists in pharmaceutical development facilities. Scientists’ capacity to perform genetic engineering, design new medical tests and therapies, and understand gene functions has skyrocketed thanks to the ability to design specific DNA sequences that meet particular research goals.​