Effort underway to boost bioscience security.

• Author: Pappalardo, Joe

The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) is developing an interactive teaching module to introduce security issues to bioscience researchers.

The non-profit group, based in Washington, D.C., is soliciting the bioscience community for case studies on which to base the interactive module. Once completed, the materials will be provided to graduate programs across the country. The lessons will focus on security in the research environment and expositions on dual-use concerns.

"I have spoken with some researchers around the country, and I am under whelmed by the response of the community to the security risks," said Stephanie Loranger, who runs the program at FAS. "I am sure it will take time for the community to really appreciate the risks, but I worry that before that happens, there will be another biological weapons attack and Congress and the administration will respond with overly-aggressive security regulations and restrictions."

Loranger noted that, unlike the nuclear physics research community, few researchers in the biological sciences have experience with national security issues, security agencies or classified research...