Biosafety Now!

US-based NGO working for a future where scientific research on pathogens supports human life without also threatening it & public trust in science is restored.

[Richard H. Ebright @R_H_Ebright]

The increase in budgets for--and increase in numbers of sociopaths engaged in--bioweapons-agents research following the 2001 anthrax attacks directly resulted in the reckless gain-of-function research on SARS viruses that caused COVID, killing 20 million and costing $25 trillion.

[Richard H. Ebright @R_H_Ebright]

25 years ago, a sociopathic US Army bioweapons-agents researcher mailed anthrax spores to Congress and media outlets.

The attack resulted in a 20x increase in US budgets for bioweapons-agents research and a 20x increase in the number of sociopaths with access to bioweapons agents.

[Richard H. Ebright @R_H_Ebright]

"It's surprisingly inconsistent of our civilization to be so cautious with highly enriched fissile materials, yet so reckless with biological equivalents."

[Richard H. Ebright @R_H_Ebright]

With AGI--as with gain-of-function virology--creating offensive weapons is easy, but creating effective defenses is difficult and usually is impossible.

[Richard H. Ebright @R_H_Ebright]

There are no regulations on genetically enhancing pathogens with private funds. Any person in any state in the US may open a biolab enhancing deadly pathogens like SARS-CoV-2, MERS virus, Clade II Mpox virus, or Andes hantavirus without needing to obtain approval from anyone or even to inform anyone.

[Richard H. Ebright @R_H_Ebright]

There are not even licensing or notification requirements. Any person in any state in the US may open a biolab producing deadly pathogens like SARS-CoV-2, MERS virus, Clade II Mpox virus, or Andes hantavirus without needing to obtain approval from anyone or even to inform anyone.

[Richard H. Ebright @R_H_Ebright]

Biolabs are not "seriously regulated by govts already."

The US has no--zero--regulations with force of law for biosafety or biorisk management of research with any pathogen other than smallpox virus, apart from a requirement to have a biosafety plan, the content of which is left to the discretion of the institution.

[Richard H. Ebright @R_H_Ebright]

A 10% risk--or even a 1% risk--of human extinction in three decades is not an acceptable level of risk.

Not for gain-of-function virology.

Not for AI-facilitated gain-of-function virology.

Not for any other aspect of AI.

[Richard H. Ebright @R_H_Ebright]

A 10% risk of human extinction in three decades is not an acceptable level of risk.

Not for gain-of-function virology.

Not for AI.

Only a sociopath--a literal sociopath--would suggest that it is.

[Richard H. Ebright @R_H_Ebright]

SARS-CoV-2, deadly germ--genetically modified to be human-to-human transmissible, highly virulent, and with no known cure--killed 20 million and erased $25 trillion from the global economy.

The next lab-generated pandemic likely will be even worse.

[Richard H. Ebright @R_H_Ebright]

Annie Jacobsen: "A deadly germ--genetically modified to be human-to-human transmissable, hypervirulent, and with no known cure--could be twenty-first-century humans' last invention."

Just read Jacobsen's book. Highly recommended.

https://t.co/gDsPnsODV0

[Bryce Nickels @Bryce_Nickels]

On the latest episode of In Defense of Virology, Simon Wain-Hobson and I explain why the new policy on dangerous gain-of-function research is a major step forward in preventing lab-generated pandemics.

[Bryce Nickels @Bryce_Nickels]

The inaugural event: Scientific Responsibility in Research on Dangerous Pathogens takes place on Friday, September 11 at 3:00 PM in the Waksman Institute Auditorium

This event will open with virtual welcome remarks from Rutgers President William F. Tate IV and feature Simon Wain-Hobson, @R_H_Ebright, and Neil L. Harrison.

The discussion will address high-risk pathogen research, its governance and oversight, and the ongoing debate over the origin of COVID-19.

https://t.co/ag5hqxlgIS

(6/n)

[Richard H. Ebright @R_H_Ebright]

Munster and Kwe exemplify the dishonesty, the disregard for biosafety, the disdain for law, and the contempt for the public interest that--after four decades of Anthony Fauci having treated virology as his personal fief and power base--have become pervasive in virology.

[Richard H. Ebright @R_H_Ebright]

"NIH seeks public input on its Draft NIH Biosafety Policy for Research Involving Biohazards, which, when finalized, will supersede the NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid Molecules.

https://t.co/AKubN4jZAO

[Richard H. Ebright @R_H_Ebright]

Dangerous gain-of-function research caused the COVID pandemic, killing 20 million and costing $25 trillion.

Dangerous gain-of-function research has no--zero--civilian or defensive military applications and never has contributed to preventing or responding to infectious diseases.

[Richard H. Ebright @R_H_Ebright]

Almost every claim in the Baltimore Sun op-ed by Ian Lipkin is a knowing, willful, brazen lie.

Lipkin was an author of the 2020 'Proximal Origin' paper that defrauded the public about the origin of COVID. Lipkin now seeks to defraud the public about dangerous gain-of-function research and its oversight.

[Richard H. Ebright @R_H_Ebright]

Defund and dismantle the NBAF BSL-4 facility.

It is unneeded, it is expensive, it is inherently unsafe, and it is a disaster waiting to happen for the US cattle, beef, and dairy industries.

[Richard H. Ebright @R_H_Ebright]

USDA OIG report, 07/2026:

"DHS constructed the $1.25 billion biocontainment laboratory facility in Manhattan, Kansas...The National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility...was not appropriately configured...to house animals...or to receive select agent registration approval."

[Richard H. Ebright @R_H_Ebright]

Defund and dismantle the NBAF BSL-4 facility.

It is completely unneeded, it is obscenely expensive, it is inherently unsafe, and it is a disaster waiting to happen for the US cattle, beef, and dairy industries.