Trump initiates strict measures on controversial biology experiments and external financial support from foreign sources
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on May 5, aiming to cut off U.S. funding for risky experiments overseas. This move comes in response to years of concerns about biosafety, both in U.S. labs and internationally, following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The executive order focuses on regulating private biological research in addition to federally funded research. It defines dangerous gain-of-function research as any biological work that increases a pathogen's ability to spread, resist treatment, evade immune responses, or cause more severe disease in humans. Under the executive order, federal agencies must immediately stop funding gain-of-function research and other high-risk life sciences studies.
U.S. agencies must suspend dangerous research they have already funded until they finalize stricter oversight policies. Research institutions receiving federal grants will be required to certify they do not participate in unauthorized gain-of-function research abroad. Violations of this requirement could result in immediate loss of funding and a five-year ban on future life-science grants.
The order also targets foreign countries with limited biosafety oversight. Funding for similar research in any nation that fails to meet U.S. biosafety standards must also be cut. The White House stated that federally funded research must benefit American citizens without endangering the nation's security.
The updates will expand top-down independent oversight, require public reporting of dangerous research projects, and enforce compliance through audits, penalties, and funding restrictions. The administration will develop a strategy within 180 days to monitor, limit, and track private research. Officials will address gaps in authority to regulate private research through a future legislative proposal.
Moreover, the updates will mandate that synthetic nucleic acid providers adhere to stricter screening frameworks. These updates aim to ensure that federally funded research institutions are subject to more transparent, enforceable rules.
Within 120 days, the Office of Science and Technology Policy must update national policies governing dual-use research and pandemic-related pathogen studies. The White House within 120 days is tasked with updating the national policies for dual-use research and research on pandemic-causing pathogens as stated in the executive order.
The executive order is a significant step towards enhancing biosafety and ensuring that U.S. funding is not used for research that could potentially pose a threat to public health or national security. It underscores the administration's commitment to protecting American citizens and the world at large from the dangers of unregulated biological research.
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