GCRI · Biotechnology and Biosecurity
Dual use and ethics
Much life sciences research is dual use: knowledge, materials and technologies developed for beneficial purposes could also be misused to cause harm. This topic, studied at Biotechnology and Biosecurity, a platform of The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation (GCRI), examines how research of concern is identified, how responsibility is shared between researchers, institutions, funders and publishers, and how concerns are escalated, alongside the wider ethical questions biotechnology raises.
Dual use and ethics in six parts.
What experts ask.
- How can research of concern be identified early, without discouraging beneficial science?
- What responsibilities do researchers, institutions, funders and publishers each hold?
- How should concerns be raised and escalated, and how are those who raise them protected?
- How should the publication of sensitive findings be handled?
- How do ethical questions of consent, equity and benefit sharing apply to biotechnology?
Oversight and capacity register.
The screen a team would use to follow this subject: its measures, states and decisions. Names are examples and values are illustrative.
Oversight and capacity register
Dual use and ethics · National committee · Review year 2
- Institutions with a committee, %61Watch
- Staff trained, %64Normal
- Reviews completed55this year
- Incident reports filed13Info
Institutional oversight
| Institution A | Active | Q4 | 87 | Current |
| Research campus | Active | Q4 | 82 | Audit due |
| Biomanufacturing site | Forming | none | 46 | Support |
| Diagnostic network | Active | Q3 | 81 | Current |
Scope note
- Covers
- governance, training, review capacity
- Excludes
- technical methods and agents
- Authority
- national oversight body
- Label
- SURVEY
Dual-use governance applies wherever life-science research touches the domains.
Governance analyses are designed for the Exponential Technology series. The WHO framework (2022) and the Biological Weapons Convention set the frame; GCRI publishes governance analysis, never methods of concern.
- Governance comparisons.
- Ethics review lessons.
How dual use and ethics is modelled, measured and tested.
The model, its assumptions, its data and its uncertainty, in the form a scientist or engineer would check. Structures follow published methods. The values drawn are illustrative, not findings.
Uncertainty bands
How far the outlook for dual use and ethics could spread, shown as ranges rather than a single line.
- Central estimate
- median of the ensemble
- Ranges
- likely and very likely, in IPCC calibrated language
- Ensemble
- members, scenarios and initial conditions stated
- Read with
- the sensitivity of the result to each input
Drivers and dynamics.
Dual-use concerns arise because the same experiments that reveal how biological systems work can, in rare cases, produce knowledge or materials that could be misused. Policies in several countries define categories of research that require additional review, and funders and journals have developed processes for assessing sensitive work. These processes depend heavily on the judgement and awareness of researchers themselves.
Ethics in biotechnology extends beyond misuse: consent for the use of genetic data, equitable access to benefits, fair sharing of benefits from genetic resources, and respect for communities and ecosystems. A culture of responsibility, in which researchers consider consequences and feel able to raise concerns, is widely regarded as the foundation of effective governance. The platform works at the level of governance, evaluation and risk methods. It publishes no protocols, techniques or information that would increase anyone’s capacity to cause harm.
How it is studied.
- 01
Policy analysis
Comparative studies of dual-use review policies, funder conditions and publication practices.
- 02
Ethics frameworks
Structured approaches for weighing benefits, risks and responsibilities in research decisions.
- 03
Education research
Studies of how training and culture influence awareness and reporting.
- 04
Limits
Misuse potential is hard to judge in advance, review processes vary in rigour, and discussions of risk must avoid creating the hazards they seek to prevent.
What it informs and who decides.
This evidence informs institutional review processes, funder and publisher policies, training and national oversight frameworks. Researchers, institutional review committees, funders, publishers and regulators decide within their roles. Governance dialogue is convened by Health and Biosecurity Governance at The Global Risks Forum (GRF). Concerns can be raised through corrections and concerns. Related topics are laboratory biosafety and biosecurity, synthetic biology and biological threats; methods sit on molecular and life sciences.
Published analysis on this topic is designed to carry a named subject reviewer, its references and the views of independent specialists, including biosafety professionals and those who disagree.
Where this page’s references lead.
The bodies and documents this page is read against. Status and editions change; each link goes to the issuing body.
Questions and answers.
Does dual use mean research should stop?
Who is responsible for identifying research of concern?
How can I raise a concern about research?
Who reviews coverage of this topic?
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