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Velardo F, Prudhomme J, Temime L, Jean K. [Dual-use research on modified pathogens in the laboratory: What framework for what issue?]. Med Sci (Paris) 2022; 38:303-308. [PMID: 35333169 DOI: 10.1051/medsci/2022026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Technological advances in synthetic biology have made in vitro modification, or even creation, of viruses easier and more affordable. Several research studies using synthesis of potential pandemic pathogens led to controversies in the 2010's. More recently, the hypothesis that Covid-19 pandemics could originate from a lab escape is still under debate. In France, a legislative vacuum remains concerning the synthesis of modified pathogens. Initiating a collective reflection process towards setting of a legal framework on this type of work is timely so that research continues to provide profit to society rather than hazard.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fanny Velardo
- École Pasteur, Conservatoire national des Arts et Métiers (Cnam) de Santé publique, 292 rue Saint-Martin, 75141 Paris Cedex 03, France
| | - Julie Prudhomme
- École Pasteur, Conservatoire national des Arts et Métiers (Cnam) de Santé publique, 292 rue Saint-Martin, 75141 Paris Cedex 03, France
| | - Laura Temime
- Laboratoire MESuRS, Conservatoire national des Arts et Métiers (Cnam), Paris, France
| | - Kévin Jean
- Laboratoire MESuRS, Conservatoire national des Arts et Métiers (Cnam), Paris, France
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Musunuri S, Sandbrink JB, Monrad JT, Palmer MJ, Koblentz GD. Rapid Proliferation of Pandemic Research: Implications for Dual-Use Risks. mBio 2021; 12:e0186421. [PMID: 34663091 PMCID: PMC8524337 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.01864-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the world's vulnerability to biological catastrophe and elicited unprecedented scientific efforts. Some of this work and its derivatives, however, present dual-use risks (i.e., potential harm from misapplication of beneficial research) that have largely gone unaddressed. For instance, gain-of-function studies and reverse genetics protocols may facilitate the engineering of concerning SARS-CoV-2 variants and other pathogens. The risk of accidental or deliberate release of dangerous pathogens may be increased by large-scale collection and characterization of zoonotic viruses undertaken in an effort to understand what enables animal-to-human transmission. These concerns are exacerbated by the rise of preprint publishing that circumvents a late-stage opportunity for dual-use oversight. To prevent the next global health emergency, we must avoid inadvertently increasing the threat of future biological events. This requires a nuanced and proactive approach to dual-use evaluation throughout the research life cycle, including the conception, funding, conduct, and dissemination of research.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jonas B. Sandbrink
- Future of Humanity Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Medical Sciences Division, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Joshua Teperowski Monrad
- Future of Humanity Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Health Policy, London School of Economics, London, United Kingdom
| | - Megan J. Palmer
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
- Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC), Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Gregory D. Koblentz
- Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA
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Mühlemann B, Vinner L, Margaryan A, Wilhelmson H, de la Fuente Castro C, Allentoft ME, de Barros Damgaard P, Hansen AJ, Holtsmark Nielsen S, Strand LM, Bill J, Buzhilova A, Pushkina T, Falys C, Khartanovich V, Moiseyev V, Jørkov MLS, Østergaard Sørensen P, Magnusson Y, Gustin I, Schroeder H, Sutter G, Smith GL, Drosten C, Fouchier RAM, Smith DJ, Willerslev E, Jones TC, Sikora M. Diverse variola virus (smallpox) strains were widespread in northern Europe in the Viking Age. Science 2020; 369:369/6502/eaaw8977. [PMID: 32703849 DOI: 10.1126/science.aaw8977] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2019] [Revised: 02/13/2020] [Accepted: 05/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Smallpox, one of the most devastating human diseases, killed between 300 million and 500 million people in the 20th century alone. We recovered viral sequences from 13 northern European individuals, including 11 dated to ~600-1050 CE, overlapping the Viking Age, and reconstructed near-complete variola virus genomes for four of them. The samples predate the earliest confirmed smallpox cases by ~1000 years, and the sequences reveal a now-extinct sister clade of the modern variola viruses that were in circulation before the eradication of smallpox. We date the most recent common ancestor of variola virus to ~1700 years ago. Distinct patterns of gene inactivation in the four near-complete sequences show that different evolutionary paths of genotypic host adaptation resulted in variola viruses that circulated widely among humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Mühlemann
- Centre for Pathogen Evolution, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.,Institute of Virology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany.,German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Associated Partner Site, Berlin, Germany
| | - Lasse Vinner
- Lundbeck Foundation GeoGenetics Center, GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Ashot Margaryan
- Lundbeck Foundation GeoGenetics Center, GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark.,Institute of Molecular Biology, National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, 0014 Yerevan, Armenia
| | - Helene Wilhelmson
- Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden.,Sydsvensk Arkeologi AB, 291 22 Kristianstad, Sweden
| | | | - Morten E Allentoft
- Lundbeck Foundation GeoGenetics Center, GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark.,Trace and Environmental DNA (TrEnD) Laboratory, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, 6102 Perth, WA, Australia
| | - Peter de Barros Damgaard
- Lundbeck Foundation GeoGenetics Center, GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Anders Johannes Hansen
- Lundbeck Foundation GeoGenetics Center, GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Sofie Holtsmark Nielsen
- Lundbeck Foundation GeoGenetics Center, GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Lisa Mariann Strand
- Department of Archaeology and Cultural History, Norwegian University of Science and Technology University Museum, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Jan Bill
- Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo, 0130 Oslo, Norway
| | - Alexandra Buzhilova
- Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 125009, Russian Federation
| | - Tamara Pushkina
- Department of Archaeology, Faculty of History, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 119992, Russian Federation
| | - Ceri Falys
- Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading RG1 5NR, UK
| | - Valeri Khartanovich
- Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) RAS, 199034 St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
| | - Vyacheslav Moiseyev
- Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) RAS, 199034 St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
| | - Marie Louise Schjellerup Jørkov
- Laboratory of Biological Anthropology, Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | | | - Ingrid Gustin
- Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | - Hannes Schroeder
- Section for Evolutionary Genomics, GLOBE Institute, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 1353 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Gerd Sutter
- Institute for Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, LMU University of Munich, 80539 Munich, Germany.,German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site, Munich, Germany
| | - Geoffrey L Smith
- Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1QP, UK
| | - Christian Drosten
- Institute of Virology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany.,German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Associated Partner Site, Berlin, Germany
| | - Ron A M Fouchier
- Department of Viroscience, Erasmus Medical Centre, 3015 CN Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - Derek J Smith
- Centre for Pathogen Evolution, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Eske Willerslev
- Lundbeck Foundation GeoGenetics Center, GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark. .,Lundbeck Foundation GeoGenetics Center, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.,Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton CB10 1SA, UK.,Danish Institute for Advanced Study, University of Southern Denmark, 5230 Odense M, Denmark
| | - Terry C Jones
- Centre for Pathogen Evolution, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK. .,Institute of Virology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany.,German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Associated Partner Site, Berlin, Germany
| | - Martin Sikora
- Lundbeck Foundation GeoGenetics Center, GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen, 1350 Copenhagen, Denmark.
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Tournier JN. [The eradication of infectious viral diseases endangered by advances in synthetic biology]. Med Sci (Paris) 2019; 35:181-186. [PMID: 30774089 DOI: 10.1051/medsci/2019005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The eradication of infectious diseases is one of the oldest dreams of mankind. It has been materialized only once in History with smallpox in 1980. Considerable efforts are being developed against poliomyelitis viruses since 1988, but the ultimate goal of eradication is not yet achieved. Paradoxically, while the objective of having eradicated these two viral diseases is approaching, synthetic biology multiplies the prowesses of virus "neosynthesis", imperiling at least virtually the durability of these advances. This article emphasizes the potential of a new biology on one side, and the difficult reality of the fight against infections on the other.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Nicolas Tournier
- Institut de recherche biomédicale des armées, Unité Biothérapies anti-infectieuses et immunité, Département Microbiologie et maladies infectieuses, 1, place général Valérie André, 91220 Brétigny-sur-Orge, France - Institut Pasteur, unité génomique virale et vaccination, CNRS UMR-3569, 25, rue du Docteur Roux, 75015 Paris, France - École du Val-de-Grâce, 74, boulevard de Port-Royal, 75005 Paris, France
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