Improving the Safety and Security of Biological Research
Headline: Federal Agencies Ordered to End Risky Gain-of-Function Research
What it does: Agencies must end federal funding for dangerous gain-of-function research abroad, strengthen oversight, require reporting, and add enforcement terms to grants and contracts.
- Stops federal funding for risky research by foreign entities in countries of concern.
- Requires research institutions to report dangerous gain-of-function projects publicly when permitted.
- Violations can trigger immediate funding revocation and five-year grant ineligibility.
Summary
This order stops federal support for dangerous "gain-of-function" research performed by foreign entities in countries lacking adequate oversight and limits other risky life-science work abroad. It requires agencies to strengthen oversight, create public reporting of covered research, update screening for synthetic DNA providers, and add enforcement terms to funding agreements.
The measures affect researchers, universities, companies that make synthetic genetic material, and agencies that fund life-science work, aiming to protect public health, safety, and national security.
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