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GCRIBiotechnology and BiosecurityIn development
Biotechnology and Biosecurity · Mandate and publisher

Mandate and publisher

Biotechnology and Biosecurity is published by The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation (GCRI). Its mandate is the science of responsible biotechnology and biological risk: evaluating technologies, studying laboratory governance and developing risk assessment methods across health, agriculture and industry. This page sets out who answers for the platform, whom it serves, what it publishes and where its role stops. The platform is in development, and the current service level is R0: information and enquiries.

Make an enquiry Back to Biotechnology and Biosecurity
In this dossier6 parts
  1. 01In briefThe short answer
  2. 02MandateResearch and biosafety practice
  3. 03Community and outputsWho it serves and what it publishes
  4. 04LimitsWhat the platform does not do
  5. 05Key termsTerms used on this page
  6. 06StatusIn development

GCRI · In development · service level R0

STEM methods
6
Canonical methods this field applies
Topics
8
Subject pages in the field
Counterparts
3
Platforms in shared fields at GCRI, GRF and GRA
Report series
2
Nexus Reports series it contributes to
01In brief

The short answer.

Biotechnology and Biosecurity is a specialist platform of The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation for health and biosecurity as well as food and agriculture. Its mandate covers biotechnology, synthetic biology and biological safety at the convergence of health, agriculture and industry. GCRI publishes it, answers for its content and takes no decision on anyone's behalf. It is in development at service level R0, and activities open as each is ready.

02Canvas

Mandate to authority.

Canvas · mandate to authorityDesign, not a record
How Biotechnology and Biosecurity is governedA mandate sets the platform's scope; an editor and reviewers govern what it publishes; programmes and the community supply the work; the integrity route handles corrections; authority over decisions stays outside. Design of the governance, not a record.

Fig.How the platform is governed, from its mandate to the authorities who decide. Design, not a record.

03Geography

People and hazards in West Africa.

For mandate and publisher, in GCRI's spatial-intelligence reading, the map opens on population density, night lights, crop greenness and true-colour imagery with true colour from NASA GIBS, framed on West Africa; 2 further NASA layers wait in the list.

The interactive map needs JavaScript; the layer list and sources are below.

Layers 4

People and hazards, for this page

Latest available

NASA GIBS / EOSDIS · ASTER GDEM (METI, NASA) · Blue Marble (NASA) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Natural Earth

Loading the latest NASA imagery.

Drag to move. Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll, pinch or the buttons to zoom; hover for the values under the pointer; reset returns to the region.

For mandate and publisher, in GCRI's spatial-intelligence reading, the map opens on population density, night lights, crop greenness and true-colour imagery with true colour from NASA GIBS, framed on West Africa; 2 further NASA layers wait in the list.Satellite and model products as NASA publishes them, each with its own date; indicators, not assessments of any place; claim ceiling INTEGRATED.

Data: NASA GIBS · ASTER GDEM · Blue Marble · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Natural Earth · Copernicus Sentinel-2 L2A · NASA HLS S30Sources and licences

  • We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University. 2018. Gridded Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4): Population Density, Revision 11. NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). CC BY 4.0
  • VIIRS Black Marble night-time lights, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; distributed by the NASA Level-1 and Atmosphere Archive and Distribution System (LAADS DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • MODIS land products (vegetation indices, gross primary production, land cover), NASA LP DAAC and LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • VIIRS near-real-time products (flood, land surface temperature, snow cover, corrected reflectance), NASA LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • ASTER GDEM is a product of METI and NASA (ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003, NASA LP DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com. Public domain
  • © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), via NASA GIBS (coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). ODbL
  • Blue Marble, NASA Earth Observatory; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • Context on the globe and flat map: coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names from NASA GIBS reference layers (OpenStreetMap data, ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors); Blue Marble imagery as an optional base; 3D terrain and the elevation read-out from the ASTER GDEM elevation colour index (5 m to 200 m classes, exaggerated for legibility). Boundaries are drawn as published and imply no position on any territory.
  • Globe: MapLibre GL JS 6.9.1, BSD-3-Clause, © MapLibre contributors.
  • Observed (EO): Copernicus Sentinel-2 L2A (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2026), Microsoft Planetary Computer
  • Observed (EO): NASA HLS S30 (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2026). We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS).
  • Optional layers (5 sources in the layer list: live, forecast, observed and context) print their provider credit on the map and here when switched on; forecasts are model output and derived indices are estimates.

Layers and dates

  • Population density, 2020: Population: CIESIN, Columbia University, Gridded Population of the World v4.11 (2018), NASA SEDAC, CC BY 4.0 · static
  • Night-time lights, daily: VIIRS Black Marble (VNP46A2), NASA LAADS DAAC · 12 Oct 2026
  • Vegetation greenness (NDVI), rolling 8 days: MODIS Terra NDVI, NASA LANCE · 13 Oct 2026
  • True colour: VIIRS NOAA-20 corrected reflectance, NASA LANCE · 13 Oct 2026
  • Land cover type (IGBP), yearly: MODIS Terra and Aqua land cover (MCD12Q1), NASA LP DAAC · 2024
  • Flood water, 3-day composite: VIIRS Global Flood Product, NASA LANCE · 14 Oct 2026

04Mandate

Research and biosafety practice.

The platform exists because biotechnology now spans health, agriculture and industry, while its risks cross the boundaries between them. Its mandate covers bioassurance, laboratory governance, risk assessment and technology evaluation. It is a place for research and biosafety practice, not a health-service provider or clinical authority.

It stewards the canonical pages for molecular and life sciences and biotechnology platforms in the STEM Commons, so that every platform applying those methods works from the same description of their assumptions and limits.

05Community and outputs

Who it serves and what it publishes.

Community

Who takes part

Life scientists, bioengineers, biosafety experts and biosecurity analysts.

Methods

How it works

Bioassurance, laboratory governance, risk assessment and technology evaluation.

Outputs

What it publishes

Biosecurity method primers, biotechnology case studies and evidence on responsible research and development.

06Limits

What the platform does not do.

  • It does not regulate, inspect, certify, license or approve any laboratory, product, organism or person.
  • It does not provide clinical, diagnostic or treatment advice.
  • It publishes no protocols or technical detail that could increase capacity for harm.
  • It does not replace institutional biosafety committees, national regulators or international instruments such as the Biological Weapons Convention and the International Health Regulations.
  • Taking part gives no authority, appointment or influence over findings, and sponsorship confers no editorial control.

GCRI is a research, development and policy institution. It is not a regulator, and its findings carry their methods and uncertainty.

07Key terms

Terms used on this page.

Each term as this page uses it. Where a standard-setting body defines the term, the wording follows that body.

TermDefinition
Service level R0The current service level of Nexus pages: information and enquiries only. An enquiry receives a reference and a named next step; it creates no membership, contract, assignment or commitment.
Conflict of interestA situation in which financial, professional or personal interests could compromise, or appear to compromise, judgement in research or review.
BiosafetyMeasures that assess and manage risks to health and the environment from living modified organisms, governed internationally by the Cartagena Protocol.
BiosecurityMeasures that prevent the loss, theft, misuse or deliberate release of pathogens and toxins.
08Status

In development.

Biotechnology and Biosecurity is in development: its scope and methods are published, and its activities, records and services appear here as each one opens. Governance and corrections follow trust, rights and status. The platform's place in the Consortium is set out on the Biotechnology and Biosecurity home, and its scientific scope on the field overview. Governance questions in the same field are convened by Health and Biosecurity Governance at The Global Risks Forum (GRF).

09Questions

Questions and answers.

Is Biotechnology and Biosecurity a separate organization?
No. It is a specialist platform of The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation (GCRI), which publishes it.
Can a laboratory use platform primers as its biosafety rules?
Primers are research evidence. Each laboratory's rules are set by its institution and competent authorities under the law that applies.
Where do I raise a safety or misuse concern?
Write to integrity@therisk.global or use corrections and concerns. The acknowledgement gives a reference and names the next step. Urgent risks to life belong with local emergency services.
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Around Biotechnology and Biosecurity.

Biotechnology and Biosecurity

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