Abstract

Synthetic horsepox viruses and the continuing debate about dual use research.

Highlights

  • On January 19, 2018, a paper describing the complete synthesis of a horsepox virus was published in PLOS ONE [1]

  • At the heart of the discussion lies the fact that this is dual use research of concern (DURC) [5] because any method that can be used to assemble horsepox virus could be used to construct variola, the virus that causes smallpox

  • As the memory of smallpox and polio fades, the challenge will be to educate new generations about the risk posed by these diseases

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Summary

Introduction

On January 19, 2018, a paper describing the complete synthesis of a horsepox virus was published in PLOS ONE [1]. This is the largest virus assembled to date, and it shows that no viral pathogen is likely beyond the reach of synthetic biology. As the two authors who conducted these experiments, we thank PLOS Pathogens for giving us the opportunity to address some of the issues arising from this work.

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Conclusion

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