Two professors have been arrested for negligence in connection with the blast.

Only a few labs will earn funding for such “gain-of-function” research on SARS, MERS, and other deadly diseases.

Genetically modified bacteria that don’t survive unless given an unnatural amino acid could serve as a new control measure to protect wild organisms and ecosystems against accidental release. 

After a string of breaches involving anthrax, Ebola, and bird flu, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reportedly replaced the director of its Division of Select Agents and Toxins.

“Kill switches” ensure that genetically engineered bacteria survive only in certain environmental conditions.

Researchers have developed two methods to avoid the unchecked spread of engineered genes through wild populations.

As the world inches closer to polio eradication, laboratories studying the virus will have to bolster biosafety standards. Eventually, most will need to stop working with the pathogen entirely.

A US Army lab shipped live spores of the deadly bacterium because of improper irradiation protocols, a Department of Defense review has found.