An organism is defined in a medical dictionary as any living thing that functions as an individual . Such a definition raises more problems than it solves, not least because the concept of an individual is also difficult. Many criteria, few of them widely accepted, have been proposed to define what an organism is. Among the most common is that an organism has autonomous reproduction , growth , and metabolism . This would exclude viruses , despite the fact that they evolve like organisms. Other problematic cases include colonial organisms ; a colony of eusocial insects is organised adaptively, and has germ-soma specialisation , with some insects reproducing, others not, like cells in an animal's body. The body of a siphonophore , a jelly-like marine animal, is composed of organism-like zooids , but the whole structure looks and functions much like an animal such as a jellyfish , the parts collaborating to provide the functions of the colonial organism.
83-401: Biosecurity refers to measures aimed at preventing the introduction or spread of harmful organisms (e.g. viruses , bacteria , plants , animals etc.) intentionally or unintentionally outside their native range or within new environments. In agriculture , these measures are aimed at protecting food crops and livestock from pests , invasive species , and other organisms not conducive to
166-473: A Figure Of Merit (FOM) score calculated from several key performance characteristics. Competing international manufacturers (European defense contractor Exosens Group, Japanese scientific instrument giant Hamamatsu Photonics , and Russian state-financed laboratory JSC Katod) have entered the American market through licensed importers. In spite of their foreign origin, re-export of these components outside of
249-430: A "guidance document" for what it called "Dual Use Research of Concern" (DURC) in the life sciences, regarding “research that is intended [to] benefit, but which might easily be misapplied to do harm". Along with several similar stipulations from other states and regional organisations, biosecurity education has become more important. Unfortunately, both the policy and academic literature show that life scientists across
332-502: A Generation 3 image intensifier), and recolored digitally. In the United States, civilians are free to buy and sell American-made night vision and thermal systems, such as those manufactured by defense contractors Harris , L3 Insight , and FLIR Systems , with very few restrictions. However, American night vision owners may not bring the equipment out of the country, sell it internationally, or even invite non-citizens to examine
415-563: A chemical agent found within several household items such as Bleach and provides various benefits with its wide array of applications. However, its gaseous form can also be used as a chemical weapon. That the July 2007 terrorist attacks in central London and at Glasgow airport may have involved National Health Service medical professionals was a recent wake-up call that screening people with access to pathogens may be necessary. The challenge remains to maintain security without impairing
498-400: A dual-use technology. The modern history of chemical weapons can be traced back to the chemical industries of the belligerent nations of World War I , especially that of Germany. Many industrial chemical processes produce toxic intermediary stages, final products, and by-products, and any nation with a chemical industry has the potential to create weaponised chemical agents. Chlorine is
581-569: A few enzymes and molecules like those in living organisms, they have no metabolism of their own; they cannot synthesize the organic compounds from which they are formed. In this sense, they are similar to inanimate matter. Viruses have their own genes , and they evolve . Thus, an argument that viruses should be classed as living organisms is their ability to undergo evolution and replicate through self-assembly. However, some scientists argue that viruses neither evolve nor self-reproduce. Instead, viruses are evolved by their host cells, meaning that there
664-408: A nuclear power program can become a route leading to the atomic bomb or a public annex to a secret bomb program. The crisis over Iran's nuclear activities is a case in point. Many UN and US agencies warn that building more nuclear reactors unavoidably increases nuclear proliferation risks. A fundamental goal for American and global security is to minimize the proliferation risks associated with
747-401: A number of treaties as well. These controls restrict the export of certain commodities and technologies without the permission of the government. In the context of sanctions regimes, dual-use can be construed broadly because there are few things which do not have the potential for both military and civilian uses. The principal agency for investigating violations of dual-use export controls in
830-592: A pathogen's virulence, host-range, transmissibility, resistance to medical countermeasures, and environmental stability, among other things". In the US, the National Science Advisory Board on Biosecurity was created in 2004 to provide biosecurity oversight of " dual-use research ", defined as "biological research with legitimate scientific purpose that may be misused to pose a biological threat to public health and/or national security ". In 2006,
913-499: A process of recombination (a primitive form of sexual interaction ). Dual-use technology In politics , diplomacy and export control , dual-use items refer to goods, software and technology that can be used for both civilian and military applications. More generally speaking, dual-use can also refer to any goods or technology which can satisfy more than one goal at any given time. Thus, expensive technologies originally benefitting only military purposes would in
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#1732780858086996-415: A specific area. A critical element in animal biosecurity is biocontainment – the control of disease agents already present in a particular area and work to prevent transmission. Animal biosecurity may protect organisms from infectious agents or noninfectious agents such as toxins or pollutants, and can be executed in areas as large as a nation or as small as a local farm. Animal biosecurity takes into account
1079-470: A strategic and integrated approach to analysing and managing relevant risks to human, animal and plant life and health and associated risks for the environment. In another document, it describes the aim of biosecurity being "to enhance the ability to protect human health , agricultural production systems, and the people and industries that depend on them", with the overarching goal being "to prevent, control and/or manage risks to life and health as appropriate to
1162-445: Is a microorganism such as a protist , bacterium , or archaean , composed of a single cell , which may contain functional structures called organelles . A multicellular organism such as an animal , plant , fungus , or alga is composed of many cells, often specialised. A colonial organism such as a siphonophore is a being which functions as an individual but is composed of communicating individuals. A superorganism
1245-401: Is a teleonomic or goal-seeking behaviour that enables them to correct errors of many kinds so as to achieve whatever result they are designed for. Such behaviour is reminiscent of intelligent action by organisms; intelligence is seen as an embodied form of cognition . All organisms that exist today possess a self-replicating informational molecule (genome), and such an informational molecule
1328-741: Is a colony, such as of ants , consisting of many individuals working together as a single functional or social unit . A mutualism is a partnership of two or more species which each provide some of the needs of the other. A lichen consists of fungi and algae or cyanobacteria , with a bacterial microbiome ; together, they are able to flourish as a kind of organism, the components having different functions, in habitats such as dry rocks where neither could grow alone. The evolutionary biologists David Queller and Joan Strassmann state that "organismality" has evolved socially, as groups of simpler units (from cells upwards) came to cooperate without conflicts. They propose that cooperation should be used as
1411-486: Is a continuing advancement of biotechnology , which increases the possibility for malevolent use, evolution of infectious diseases , and globalising force which is making the world more interdependent and more susceptible to spread of epidemics. Controversial experiments in synthetic biology , including the synthesis of poliovirus from its genetic sequence, and the modification of flu type H5N1 for airborne transmission in mammals , led to calls for tighter controls on
1494-470: Is a legally binding agreement on 196 nations, including all member states of WHO. Its purpose and scope is "to prevent, protect against, control, and provide a public health response to the international spread of disease in ways that are commensurate with and restricted to public health risks and that avoid unnecessary interference with international traffic and trade", "to help the international community prevent and respond to acute public health risks that have
1577-456: Is also important. The MENA ( Middle East and North Africa ) region, with its socio-political unrest, diverse cultures and societies, and recent biological weapons programs, faces particular challenges. Biosecurity requires the cooperation of scientists, technicians, policy makers, security engineers, and law enforcement officials. The emerging nature of newer biosecurity threats means that small-scale risks can blow up rapidly, which makes
1660-555: Is also vulnerable to pathogenic organisms, including fungal , bacterial, or viral infections which can affect fish at different stages of their life cycle. Direct threats to human health may come in the form of epidemics or pandemics , such as the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic and other influenza epidemics, MERS , SARS , or the COVID-19 pandemic , or they may be deliberate attacks (bioterrorism). The country/federal and/or state health departments are usually responsible for managing
1743-535: Is an argument for viewing viruses as cellular organisms. Some researchers perceive viruses not as virions alone, which they believe are just spores of an organism, but as a virocell - an ontologically mature viral organism that has cellular structure. Such virus is a result of infection of a cell and shows all major physiological properties of other organisms: metabolism , growth, and reproduction , therefore, life in its effective presence. The philosopher Jack A. Wilson examines some boundary cases to demonstrate that
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#17327808580861826-424: Is important. Indicators of agro-terrorism at a food processing plant may include persons taking notes or photos of a business, theft of employee uniforms, employees changing working hours, or persons attempting to gain information about security measures and personnel. Unusual activity is best handled if reported to law enforcement personnel promptly. Communication between policymakers and life sciences scientists
1909-472: Is likely intrinsic to life. Thus, the earliest organisms also presumably possessed a self-replicating informational molecule ( genome ), perhaps RNA or an informational molecule more primitive than RNA. The specific nucleotide sequences in all currently extant organisms contain information that functions to promote survival, reproduction , and the ability to acquire resources necessary for reproduction, and sequences with such functions probably emerged early in
1992-565: The A.Q. Khan smuggling network in Pakistan), high degrees of political stability (defined by the World Bank as “likelihood that the government will be destabilized or overthrown by unconstitutional or violent means, including politically-motivated violence and terrorism”), high governmental effectiveness scores (a World Bank aggregate measure of “the quality of the civil service and the degree of its independence from political pressures [and]
2075-548: The Ancient Greek ὀργανισμός , derived from órganon , meaning instrument, implement, tool, organ of sense or apprehension) first appeared in the English language in the 1660s with the now-obsolete meaning of an organic structure or organization. It is related to the verb "organize". In his 1790 Critique of Judgment , Immanuel Kant defined an organism as "both an organized and a self-organizing being". Among
2158-840: The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety , the Codex Alimentarius , the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT, 1947). The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ( OECD ) and WHO are the most important organisations associated with biosecurity. The IHR
2241-837: The Chemical Weapons Convention and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons . UAVs are considered to be a challenge for military. No drone zones are areas where drones or unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) cannot be operated. Originally developed as weapons during the Cold War , the United States and the Soviet Union spent billions of dollars developing rocket technology which could carry humans into space (and eventually to
2324-774: The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM) develop standards pertinent to their focuses, which then become international reference points through the World Trade Organization (WTO)'s Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement), created in 1995. This agreement requires all members of
2407-652: The Export and Imports Permits Act . The European Union governs dual-use technology through the Control List of Dual Use Items . There are several international arrangements among countries which seek to harmonize lists of dual-use (and military) technologies to control. These include the Nuclear Suppliers Group , the Australia Group , which looks at chemical and biological technologies,
2490-537: The Moon ). The development of this peaceful rocket technology paralleled the development of intercontinental ballistic missile technology; and was a way of demonstrating to the other side the potential of one's own rockets. Those who seek to develop ballistic missiles may claim that their rockets are for peaceful purposes; for example, for commercial satellite launching or scientific purposes . However, even genuinely peaceful rockets may be converted into weapons and provide
2573-551: The National Academy of Sciences defined biosecurity as "security against the inadvertent, inappropriate, or intentional malicious or malevolent use of potentially dangerous biological agents or biotechnology , including the development, production, stockpiling, or use of biological weapons as well as outbreaks of newly emergent and epidemic disease". A number of nations have developed biological weapons for military use, and many civilian research projects in medicine have
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2656-534: The UN Security Council convened to discuss HIV/AIDS as a security issue in Africa and designated it a threat in the following month. The UNDP Millennium Development Goals also recognise health issues as international security issue. Several instances of epidemics such as SARS increased awareness of health security (biosecurity). Several factors have rendered biosecurity issues more severe: there
2739-442: The epidemiological triad for disease occurrence: the individual host, the disease, and the environment in contributing to disease susceptibility. It aims to improve nonspecific immunity of the host to resist the introduction of an agent, or limit the risk that an agent will be sustained in an environment at adequate levels. Biocontainment works to improve specific immunity towards already present pathogens. The aquaculture industry
2822-523: The image intensifiers used in night vision goggles and the focal plane arrays found in surveillance satellites and thermal cameras , have numerous civil applications which include nature photography , medical imaging , firefighting , and population control of predator species. Night scenes of wild elephants and rhinos in the BBC nature documentary series Africa were shot on a Lunax Starlight HD camera (a custom-built digital cinema rig encompassing
2905-642: The "defining trait" of an organism. Samuel Díaz‐Muñoz and colleagues (2016) accept Queller and Strassmann's view that organismality can be measured wholly by degrees of cooperation and of conflict. They state that this situates organisms in evolutionary time, so that organismality is context dependent. They suggest that highly integrated life forms, which are not context dependent, may evolve through context-dependent stages towards complete unification. Viruses are not typically considered to be organisms, because they are incapable of autonomous reproduction , growth , metabolism , or homeostasis . Although viruses have
2988-597: The First and Second World War is the role of German toy manufacturers: Germany was one of the leading nations in the production of wind-up toys , and the ability to produce large numbers of small and reliable clockwork motors was converted into the ability to produce shell and bomb fuzes . During its early stages of release, the PlayStation 2 was considered to be a dual-use technology. The gaming console had to receive special import regulations before being shipped towards
3071-744: The Future of Humanity , puts into question whether the current international conventions regarding biotechnology research and development regulation, and self-regulation by biotechnology companies and the scientific community are adequate. American scientists have proposed various policy -based measures to reduce the large risks from life sciences research – such as pandemics through accident or misapplication . Risk management measures may include novel international guidelines , effective oversight, improvement of US policies to influence policies globally, and identification of gaps in biosecurity policies along with potential approaches to address them. The advance of
3154-454: The IVAS contract. Microsoft president Brad Smith had previously made a public blog post outlining the company's stance on "how technology companies should work with the government, and specifically whether companies should supply digital technology to the military." Most industrial countries have export controls on certain types of designated dual-use technologies, and they are required by
3237-466: The U.S. and European markets. This is due to the console's and its included GPU's capability to process high quality images at high speeds, a shared trait with missile guidance systems . Early 2019, Microsoft announced the HoloLens 2 , smart glasses that will allow consumers to experience augmented reality within the real world. However, it was revealed Microsoft made a 479 million dollar deal with
3320-715: The U.S. government. This contract would have Microsoft create and supply the U.S. Army a separate version of the HoloLens smart glasses called the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS). The IVAS would be used to train soldiers, as well as field medics with battlefield experience within a virtual environment. This version of the HoloLens allowed the soldiers to have a virtual map of their current environment, friendly units' locations, and much more. An anonymous Microsoft employee published an open letter demanding that Microsoft terminate
3403-536: The US, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) runs a program called the "FDA Medical Countermeasures Initiative" (MCMi), with programs funded by the federal government . It helps support "partner" agencies and organisations prepare for public health emergencies that could require MCMs. Various international organisations, international bodies and legal instruments and agreements make up a worldwide governance framework for biosecurity. Standard-setting organisations include
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3486-726: The United States is restricted similarly to domestic components. A 2012 assessment of the sector by the Department of Commerce and Bureau of Industry and Security made the case for relaxing export controls in light of the narrowing performance gap and increased competition internationally, and a review period undertaken by the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls in 2015 introduced much more granular performance definitions. In addition to obvious dual-use technologies there are some less obvious ones, in that many erstwhile peaceful technologies can be used in weapons. One example during
3569-670: The United States is the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) Office of Export Enforcement (OEE). Interagency coordination of export control cases are conducted through the Export Enforcement Coordination Center (E2C2). The International Traffic in Arms Regulations is the US regime that the BIS OEE enforces. The Canadian legislation to govern the trade in dual-use technology is known as
3652-636: The WTO to consider all import requests concerning agricultural products from other countries. Broadly, the measures covered by the agreement are those aimed at the protection of human, animal or plant life or health from certain risks. Other important global and regional agreements include the International Health Regulations (IHR, 2005), the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC),
3735-476: The White House published the "United States Government Policy for Oversight of Dual Use Research of Concern and Pathogens with Enhanced Pandemic Potential", "a unified federal oversight framework for conducting and managing certain types of federally funded life sciences research on biological agents and toxins." The policy superseded several prior documents, published in 2012, 2014, and 2017, and it follows
3818-467: The biological sciences are aware of their obligations under the convention and relevant national legislation and guidelines...States Parties noted that formal requirements for seminars, modules or courses, including possible mandatory components, in relevant scientific and engineering training programmes and continuing professional education could assist in raising awareness and in implementing the convention. The World Health Organization in 2010 developed
3901-678: The concept of organism is not sharply defined. In his view, sponges , lichens , siphonophores , slime moulds , and eusocial colonies such as those of ants or naked molerats , all lie in the boundary zone between being definite colonies and definite organisms (or superorganisms). Scientists and bio-engineers are experimenting with different types of synthetic organism , from chimaeras composed of cells from two or more species, cyborgs including electromechanical limbs, hybrots containing both electronic and biological elements, and other combinations of systems that have variously evolved and been designed. An evolved organism takes its form by
3984-402: The contributions to progress afforded by research. Reports from the project on building a sustainable culture in dual-use bioethics suggest that, as a result of perceived changes in both science and security over the past decade, several states and multilateral bodies have underlined the importance of making life scientists aware of concerns over dual-use and the legal obligations underpinning
4067-442: The control of outbreaks and transmission and the supply of information to the public. Medical countermeasures (MCMs) are products such as biologics and pharmaceutical drugs that can protect from or treat the effects of a chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) attack or in the case of public health emergencies. MCMs can also be used for prevention and diagnosis of symptoms associated with CBRN attacks or threats. In
4150-476: The criteria that have been proposed for being an organism are: Other scientists think that the concept of the organism is inadequate in biology; that the concept of individuality is problematic; and from a philosophical point of view, question whether such a definition is necessary. Problematic cases include colonial organisms : for instance, a colony of eusocial insects fulfills criteria such as adaptive organisation and germ-soma specialisation. If so,
4233-408: The definition of international security. There was a general realisation that the actors in the international system not only involved nation-states but also included international organisations, institutions, and individuals, which ensured the security of various actors within each nation became an important agenda. Biosecurity is one of the issues to be securitised under this trend. On 10 January 2000,
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#17327808580864316-518: The development of an effective policy challenging owing to the limitations on time and resources available for analysing threats and estimating the likelihood of their occurrence. It is likely that further synergies with other disciplines, such as virology or the detection of chemical contaminants , will develop over time. Some uncertainties about the policy implementation for biosecurity remain for future. In order to carefully plan out preventive policies, policy makers need to be able to somewhat predict
4399-504: The directives established by the 2022 National Biodefense Strategy and Implementation Plan. Night-vision devices with extraordinary performance characteristics (high gain , specific spectral sensitivity , fine resolution , low noise ) are heavily export-restricted by the few states capable of producing them, mainly to limit their proliferation to enemy combatants, but also to slow the inevitable reverse-engineering undertaken by other world powers. These precision components, such as
4482-422: The evolution of life. It is also likely that survival sequences present early in the evolution of organisms included sequences that facilitate the avoidance of damage to the self-replicating molecule and promote the capability to repair such damages that do occur. Repair of some of the genome damages in these early organisms may have involved the capacity to use undamaged information from another similar genome by
4565-532: The expansion of nuclear power. If this development is "poorly managed or efforts to contain risks are unsuccessful, the nuclear future will be dangerous". For nuclear power programs to be developed and managed safely and securely, it is important that countries have domestic “ good governance ” characteristics that will encourage proper nuclear operations and management: These characteristics include low degrees of corruption (to avoid officials selling materials and technology for their own personal gain as occurred with
4648-637: The future also be used to serve civilian commercial interests if they were not otherwise engaged, such as the Global Positioning System developed by the U.S. Department of Defense . The "dual-use dilemma" was first noted with the discovery of the process for synthesizing and mass-producing ammonia which revolutionized agriculture with modern fertilizers but also led to the creation of chemical weapons during World War I . The dilemma has long been known in chemistry and physics, and has led to international conventions and treaties, including
4731-519: The globe are frequently uninformed or underinformed about biosecurity, dual-use, the BTWC and national legislation outlawing biological weapons. Moreover, despite numerous declarations by states and multilateral organisations, the extent to which statements at the international level have trickled down to multifaceted activity at the level of scientists remains limited. The US federal government (USG) developed several policy documents on DURC. In May 2024,
4814-614: The last century. Dealing with this challenge, which has been labelled the "dual-use dilemma", requires a number of different activities. However, one way of ensuring that the life sciences continue to generate significant benefits and do not become subject to misuse for hostile purposes is a process of engagement between scientists and the security community, and the development of strong ethical and normative frameworks to complement legal and regulatory measures that are developed by states. Organism The evolutionary biologists David Queller and Joan Strassmann state that "organismality",
4897-403: The life sciences and biotechnology has the potential to bring great benefits to humankind through responding to societal challenges. However, it is also possible that such advances could be exploited for hostile purposes, something evidenced in a small number of incidents of bioterrorism, particularly by the series of large-scale offensive biological warfare programs carried out by major states in
4980-423: The major challenges of biosecurity is that harmful technology has become more available and accessible. Biomedical advances and the globalisation of scientific and technical expertise have made it possible to greatly improve public health; however, there is also the risk that these advances can make it easier for terrorists to produce biological weapons. Communication between the citizen and law enforcement officials
5063-426: The materials and information used to perform similar feats. Ideas include better enforcement by national governments and private entities concerning shipments and downloads of such materials, and registration or background check requirements for anyone handling such materials. Diseases caused by emerging viruses are a major threat to global public health . The proliferation of high biosafety level laboratories around
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#17327808580865146-409: The measures taken "to reduce the risk of accidental release of or exposure to infectious disease agents", whereas laboratory biosecurity is usually taken to mean "a set of systems and practices employed in legitimate bioscience facilities to reduce the risk that dangerous biological agents will be stolen and used maliciously". Joseph Kanabrocki (2017) source elaborates: "Biosafety focuses on protection of
5229-501: The partially understood mechanisms of evolutionary developmental biology , in which the genome directs an elaborated series of interactions to produce successively more elaborate structures. The existence of chimaeras and hybrids demonstrates that these mechanisms are "intelligently" robust in the face of radically altered circumstances at all levels from molecular to organismal. Synthetic organisms already take diverse forms, and their diversity will increase. What they all have in common
5312-534: The particular biosecurity sector". Measures taken to counter biosecurity risks typically include compulsory terms of quarantine , and are put in place to minimise the risk of invasive pests or diseases arriving at a specific location that could damage crops and livestock as well as the wider environment. In general, the term is today taken to include managing biological threats to people, industries or environment. These may be from foreign or endemic organisms, but they can also extend to pandemic diseases and
5395-527: The potential to be used in military applications (dual-use research), so biosecurity protocols are used to prevent dangerous biological materials from falling into the hands of malevolent parties. Components of a laboratory biosecurity program include: Threats to animals and plants, in particular food crops , which may in turn threaten human health, are typically overseen by a government department of agriculture . Animal biosecurity encompasses different means of prevention and containment of disease agents in
5478-560: The potential to cross borders and threaten people worldwide". For a long time, health security or biosecurity issues were not considered as an international security issue, especially in the traditional view of international relations. However, some changes in trend have contributed to the inclusion of biosecurity (health security) in discussions of security. As time progressed, there was a movement towards securitisation. Non-traditional security issues such as climate change , organised crime , terrorism , and landmines came to be included in
5561-434: The potential to deploy multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles . Dual-use nuclear technology refers to the possibility of military use of civilian nuclear power technology. Many technologies and materials associated with the creation of a nuclear power program have a dual-use capability, in that several stages of the nuclear fuel cycle allow diversion of nuclear materials for nuclear weapons . When this happens
5644-571: The prevention of biological weapons. One of the key mechanisms that have been identified to achieve this is through the education of life science students, with the objective of building what has been termed a “culture of responsibility”. At the 2008 Meeting of States Parties to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC), it was agreed by consensus that: States Parties recognized the importance of ensuring that those working in
5727-430: The probability and assess the risks; however, as the uncertain nature of the biosecurity issue goes it is largely difficult to predict and also involves a complex process as it requires a multidisciplinary approach. The policy choices they make to address an immediate threat could pose another threat in the future, facing an unintended trade-off. Philosopher Toby Ord , in his 2020 book The Precipice: Existential Risk and
5810-480: The qualities or attributes that define an entity as an organism, has evolved socially as groups of simpler units (from cells upwards) came to cooperate without conflicts. They propose that cooperation should be used as the "defining trait" of an organism. This would treat many types of collaboration, including the fungus / alga partnership of different species in a lichen , or the permanent sexual partnership of an anglerfish , as an organism. The term "organism" (from
5893-435: The quality of policy formulation and implementation”), and a strong degree of regulatory competence. As more advances are made towards artificial intelligence (AI), it garners more and more attention on its capability as a dual-use technology and the security risks it may pose. Artificial intelligence can be applied within many different fields and can be easily integrated throughout current technology's cyberspace . With
5976-454: The researcher, their contacts and the environment via accidental release of a pathogen from containment, whether by direct release into the environment or by a laboratory-acquired infection. Conversely, biosecurity focuses on controlling access to pathogens of consequence and on the reliability of the scientists granted this access (thereby reducing the threat of an intentional release of a pathogen) and/or access to sensitive information related to
6059-612: The same argument, or a criterion of high co-operation and low conflict, would include some mutualistic (e.g. lichens) and sexual partnerships (e.g. anglerfish ) as organisms. If group selection occurs, then a group could be viewed as a superorganism , optimized by group adaptation . Another view is that attributes like autonomy, genetic homogeneity and genetic uniqueness should be examined separately rather than demanding that an organism should have all of them; if so, there are multiple dimensions to biological individuality, resulting in several types of organism. A unicellular organism
6142-400: The technological basis to do so. Within peaceful rocket programs, different peaceful applications can be seen as having parallel military roles. For example, the return of scientific payloads safely to earth from orbit would indicate re-entry vehicle capability and demonstrating the ability to launch multiple satellites with a single launch vehicle can be seen in a military context as having
6225-558: The technology, per International Traffic in Arms Regulations . Export of American image intensifiers is selectively permitted under license by the United States Department of Commerce and the State Department . Contributing factors in acquiring a license include diplomatic relations with the destination country, number of pieces to be sold, and the relative quality of the equipment itself, expressed using
6308-533: The term as meaning "successful minimising of the risks that the biological sciences will be deliberately or accidentally misused in a way which causes harm for humans, animals, plants or the environment, including through awareness and understanding of the risks". From the late 1990s, in response to the threat of biological terrorism , the term started to include the prevention of the theft of biological materials from research laboratories , called "laboratory biosecurity" by WHO. The term laboratory biosafety refers to
6391-553: The threat of bioterrorism , both of which pose threats to public health . The definition has sometimes been broadened to embrace other concepts, and it is used for different purposes in different contexts. A 2016 draft handbook on biosecurity education produced by the Bradford Disarmament Research Centre at Bradford University in the UK, where the focus is on the dangers of "dual-use" research, defines
6474-629: The use of AI, technology has become capable of running multiple algorithms that could solve difficult problems, from detecting anomalies in samples during MRI scans , to providing surveillance of an entire country's residents. Within China's mass surveillance , the government uses AI in order to distinguish citizens with less than satisfactory records among crowds. Every new invention or application made with AI comes with its own set of positive and negative effects. Some claim that, as potential uses for AI grow in number, nations need to start regulating it as
6557-407: The welfare of the human population . The term includes biological threats to people, including those from pandemic diseases and bioterrorism . The definition has sometimes been broadened to embrace other concepts, and it is used for different purposes in different contexts. The COVID-19 pandemic is a recent example of a threat for which biosecurity measures have been needed in all countries of
6640-453: The world has resulted in concern about the availability of targets for those that might be interested in stealing dangerous pathogens. The growth in containment laboratories is often in response to emerging diseases, and many new containment labs' main focus is to find ways to control these diseases. By strengthening national disease surveillance, prevention, control and response systems, the labs have improved international public health. One of
6723-430: The world. The term "biosecurity" has been defined differently by various disciplines. The term was first used by the agricultural and environmental communities to describe preventative measures against threats from naturally occurring diseases and pests, later expanded to introduced species . Australia and New Zealand, among other countries, had incorporated this definition within their legislation by 2010. New Zealand
6806-459: Was co-evolution of viruses and host cells. If host cells did not exist, viral evolution would be impossible. As for reproduction, viruses rely on hosts' machinery to replicate. The discovery of viruses with genes coding for energy metabolism and protein synthesis fuelled the debate about whether viruses are living organisms, but the genes have a cellular origin. Most likely, they were acquired through horizontal gene transfer from viral hosts. There
6889-612: Was the earliest adopter of a comprehensive approach with its Biosecurity Act 1993 . In 2001, the US National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) defined biosecurity as "the sum of risk management practices in defense against biological threats", and its main goal as "protect[ing] against the risk posed by disease and organisms". In 2010, the World Health Organization (WHO) provided an information note describing biosecurity as
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