Synthetic genomics is the construction of viruses, bacteria, and eukaryotic cells with
synthetic genomes. It involves two basic processes: synthesis of complete genomes or …

In the light of the urgency raised by the COVID-19 pandemic, global investment in wildlife
virology is likely to increase, and new surveillance programmes will identify hundreds of …

Epidemic risk assessment and response relies on rapid information sharing. Using
examples from the past decade, we discuss the limitations of the present system for outbreak …

Reliable, affordable, rapid and sensitive point-of-care testing is essential for preparedness
towards pandemic viruses that could emerge from zoonoses, laboratory accidents or …

The smallpox infection with the variola virus was one of the most fatal disorders until a global
eradication was initiated in the twentieth century. The last cases were reported in Somalia …

Given the abrupt global disruption caused by SARS-CoV-2, one might think that the COVID
pandemic was an unpredictable event. But in the years leading up to the emergence of the …

Synthetic genomics‐driven dematerialization of genetic resources facilitates flexible
hypothesis testing and rapid product development. Biological sequences have …

Over the past 40 years, modern biosciences coevolved with the expansion of intellectual
property, as new laws have enabled life forms that are the products of bioscience research …

Powerful new technologies can have profound global security implications. In this thesis, I
investigate how advances in synthetic biology and artificial intelligence could have dual-use …

The COVID pandemic has raised a plethora of moral questions relative, for instance, to the
behaviour of citizens during a health crisis, or to the establishment of protocols for a fair …