Monday, the National Research Council released a report that finds “several major shortcomings” in a U.S. Department of Homeland Security assessment of risks associated with operating the proposed National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, Kan. The National Research Council review of the DHS risk assessment finds that there is nearly a 70 percent chance over the 50-year lifetime of the facility that a release of Foot and Mouth Disease could result in an infection outside the laboratory, impacting the economy by estimates of $9 billion to $50 billion.
The planned National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility will be a state-of-the-art containment facility that will support programs that the nation and others will turn to as a global reference, training and research laboratory for foreign animal diseases. As a biosafety level 4 pathogen facility, the NBAF will be a high-containment laboratory with the ability to carry out critical research on agents that pose serious threats to U.S. animal and human heath by using large animals, such as cattle and swine.
Biosafety level assignments were created by the Centers for Disease Control to classify the relative danger to the surrounding environment. Biosafety level designations increase as the potential consequences of exposure to research materials become more hazardous. A Level 4 biosafety facility works with dangerous and exotic agents that pose a high individual risk of aerosol-transmitted laboratory infections, agents for which vaccines or other treatments are not available.
Recent publications of the National Research Council discuss aspects of research with select agents, including lab safety and security. This year the NRC has published reports to evaluate several high containment facilities, including the proposed Kansas site. These studies and other related titles can inform and guide discussion about research priorities, safety concerns, and dual-use issues.
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Congress requested that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) produce a site-specific biosafety and biosecurity risk assessment (SSRA) of the proposed National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, Kansas. The laboratory would study… |
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Sequence-Based Classification of Select Agents: A Brighter Line Select Agents are defined in regulations through a list of names of particularly dangerous known bacteria, viruses, toxins, and fungi. However, natural variation and intentional genetic modification blur the boundaries of any discrete Select Agent list based… |
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The U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases in Frederick, Maryland, is designed to handle pathogens that cause serious or potentially lethal diseases, which require the research performed on them be contained to specialized laboratories…. |
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In 2003, the Boston University Medical Center (BUMC) was awarded a $128 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to build one of two high- and maximum- containment laboratory facilities for research on biological pathogens. The National Emerging… |
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Following the attacks of September 11, 2001 and the anthrax letters, the ability to detect biological threats as quickly as possible became a top priority. In 2003 the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) introduced the BioWatch program–a federal monitoring… |
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Challenges and Opportunities for Education About Dual Use Issues in the Life Sciences The Challenges and Opportunities for Education About Dual Use Issues in the Life Sciences workshop was held to engage the life sciences community on the particular security issues related to research with dual use potential. More than 60 participants from… |
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Responsible Research with Biological Select Agents and Toxins The effort to understand and combat infectious diseases has, during the centuries, produced many key advances in science and medicine–including the development of vaccines, drugs, and other treatments. A subset of this research is conducted with agents that,… |
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The same technologies that fuel scientific advances also pose potential risks–that the knowledge, tools, and techniques gained through legitimate biotechnology research could be misused to create biological weapons or for bioterrorism. This is often called… |
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Department of Homeland Security Bioterrorism Risk Assessment: A Call for Change The mission of Department of Homeland Security Bioterrorism Risk Assessment: A Call for Change, the book published in December 2008, is to independently and scientifically review the methodology that led to the 2006 Department of Homeland… |
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Test and Evaluation of Biological Standoff Detection Systems: Abbreviated Version A biological warfare agent (BWA) is a microorganism, or a toxin derived from a living organism, that causes disease in humans, plants, or animals or that causes the deterioration of material. The effectiveness of a BWA is greatly reduced if the attack is… |
Herb Lin Speaks About Cyberattack and Stuxnet
Stuxnet is a quickly mutating computer worm that has been infiltrating computers in Iran. Discovered in June, Stuxnet has been found in over 45,000 computers in various countries, but the vast majority of infected systems are in Iran.
The 2009 title Technology, Policy, Law and Ethics Regarding U.S. Acquisition and Use of Cyberattack Capabilities provides insight and a context with which to view the Stuxnet situation. We asked Herb Lin, the Study Director and one of the editors of the book, for his perspective.
“Stuxnet is the first reported incident of malware aimed at computerized industrial control systems that (allegedly) seeks to cause actual damage to these systems, rather than just extracting information from them. That is, it appears to be an instrument of cyberATTACK and not just one of cyberEXPLOITATION. (The difference between cyberattack and cyberexploitation is addressed in the 2009 report on cyberattack.)
The 2009 report also provides the necessary background to understand many aspects of the Stuxnet incident, including the difficulty of attributing the source of a cyberattack, the intelligence support needed for a successful cyberattack to occur, the significance of nation state involvement, and the potential utility of cyberattack as an instrument of clandestine national policy.”
Technology, Policy, Law, and Ethics Regarding U.S. Acquisition and Use of Cyberattack Capabilities is available to download at no charge online at the NAP website. Links to this title and other National Academies reports that may also interest you are listed below.
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Technology, Policy, Law, and Ethics Regarding U.S. Acquisition and Use of Cyberattack Capabilities
The United States is increasingly dependent on information and information technology for both civilian and military purposes, as are many other nations. Although there is a substantial literature on the potential impact of a cyberattack on the societal…
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Proceedings of a Workshop on Deterring CyberAttacks: Informing Strategies and Developing Options for U.S. Policy
In a world of increasing dependence on information technology, the prevention of cyberattacks on a nation’s important computer and communications systems and networks is a problem that looms large. Given the demonstrated limitations of passive cybersecurity…
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Toward Better Usability, Security, and Privacy of Information Technology: Report of a Workshop
Despite many advances, security and privacy often remain too complex for individuals or enterprises to manage effectively or to use conveniently. Security is hard for users, administrators, and developers to understand, making it all too easy to use,…
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Toward a Safer and More Secure Cyberspace
Given the growing importance of cyberspace to nearly all aspects of national life, a secure cyberspace is vitally important to the nation, but cyberspace is far from secure today. The United States faces the real risk that adversaries will exploit…
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Francisco J. Ayala Awarded 2010 Templeton Prize
We congratulate National Academy of Sciences member Francisco J. Ayala for winning the 2010 Templeton Prize. Dr. Ayala is an evolutionary geneticist and molecular biologist who has vigorously opposed the entanglement of science and religion while also calling for mutual respect between the two. The Prize, announced at a news conference at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC, honors a living person who has made exceptional contributions to affirming life’s spiritual dimension.
In nominating Ayala for the Prize, Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone, president of the National Academy of Sciences, recounted the broad influence of Ayala’s scientific teaching and writings, including more than 1,000 papers and 35 books, adding, “A pervasive message of several of these publications is that science is a way of knowing, but it is not the only way. The significance and purpose of the world and human life, as well as matters concerning moral or religious values, transcend science.”
Ayala was asked by the National Academy of Sciences to serve as committee chair of a landmark booklet updated several times called Science, Evolution, and Creationism. He also wrote Darwin’s Gift to Science and Religion (Joseph Henry Press), a broad review of the proper context of science and religion in modern society.
For more information, read the press release here.
Featured Publications
Science, Evolution, and Creationism
How did life evolve on Earth? The answer to this question can help us understand our past and prepare for our future. Although evolution provides credible and reliable answers, polls show that many people turn away from science, seeking other explanations with which they are more comfortable.
In the book Science, Evolution, and Creationism, a group of experts assembled by the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine explain the fundamental methods of science, document the overwhelming evidence in support of biological evolution, and evaluate the alternative perspectives offered by advocates of various kinds of creationism, including “intelligent design.” The book explores the many fascinating inquiries being pursued that put the science of evolution to work in preventing and treating human disease, developing new agricultural products, and fostering industrial innovations. The book also presents the scientific and legal reasons for not teaching creationist ideas in public school science classes.
Mindful of school board battles and recent court decisions, Science, Evolution, and Creationism shows that science and religion should be viewed as different ways of understanding the world rather than as frameworks that are in conflict with each other and that the evidence for evolution can be fully compatible with religious faith. For educators, students, teachers, community leaders, legislators, policy makers, and parents who seek to understand the basis of evolutionary science, this publication will be an essential resource.
Darwin’s Gift to Science and Religion (Joseph Henry Press)
With the publication in 1859 of On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, Charles Darwin established evolution by common descent as the dominant scientific explanation for nature’s diversity. This was to be his gift to science and society at last, we had an explanation for how life came to be on Earth.
Scientists agree that the evolutionary origin of animals and plants is a scientific conclusion beyond reasonable doubt. They place it beside such established concepts as the roundness of the earth, its revolution around the sun, and the molecular composition of matter. That evolution has occurred, in other words, is a fact.
Yet as we approach the bicentennial celebration of Darwin’s birth, the world finds itself divided over the truth of evolutionary theory. Consistently endorsed as good science by experts and overwhelmingly accepted as fact by the scientific community, it is not always accepted by the public and our schools continue to be battlegrounds for this conflict. From the Tennessee trial of a biology teacher who dared to teach Darwin’s theory to his students in 1925 to Tammy Kitzmiller’s 2005 battle to keep intelligent design out of the Dover district schools in Pennsylvania, it’s clear that we need to cut through the propaganda to quell the cacophony of raging debate.
With the publication of Darwin’s Gift, a voice at once fresh and familiar brings a rational, measured perspective to the science of evolution. An acclaimed evolutionary biologist with a background in theology, Francisco Ayala offers clear explanations of the science, reviews the history that led us to ratify Darwin’s theories, and ultimately provides a clear path for a confused and conflicted public.
NAS Members Appointed Science Envoys
As you may have heard, former NAS President Bruce Alberts, former NIH Director and IOM member Elias Zerhouni, and Nobel prize-winning chemist and NAS member Ahmed Zewail have been appointed by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to serve as science envoys to Muslim majority countries.
According to the State Department press release, the envoys will engage with international partners on topics ranging from scientific and health issues, to climate change, environmental issues, and cooperation on satellites and global positioning systems. Their aim will be to “promote responsible environmental governance, foster innovation, and increase public engagement on shared environmental and health challenges.” You can view a video of Secretary Clinton’s remarks here.
The National Academies has ample experience working across borders to further scientific causes. In fact, the newly released book, Interacademy Programs Between the United States and Eastern Europe 1967-2009 documents how the Academies has been able to establish and maintain scientific contacts with colleagues in Eastern Europe prior to and after the lifting of the Iron Curtain.
From the book:
Beginning in 1965, several foreign secretaries of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) decided to try to bring the well established but isolated scientific communities of Eastern Europe closer to the mainstream of international science.
A review of the early stages of the program was conducted in 1989 and found several positive outcomes, including a furthering of scientific knowledge and a more in-depth understanding of the complex relationships between politics, scientific priorities, and cultural and social trends.
Following the lifting of the Iron Curtain, the program evolved to a more natural mode of cooperation. In 1993 the NAS began annual and open competitions among American Scientists who wished to work with colleagues from the former Soviet Union. As closed doors in the region were opening during the 1990s, these connections proved invaluable for helping to integrate the region’s scientists into the international science community. As time went on, meetings became more frequent:
At low cost, the NAS could sponsor annual regional scientific meetings in Europe, rotating from capital to capital. Such forums, organized in cooperation with interested academies and co-funded by these academies, could provide opportunities to exchange up-to-date information on scientific advances in selected fields, trends in efforts to promote sustainable knowledge-based economies, and mechanisms to expand scientist-to-scientist cooperation. The scientific and political payoff from such high visibility demonstrations of U.S. interest in the region would be substantial.