Yvan Dutil

#DNA #Space #Asteroid All 5 fundamental units of life’s genetic code were just discovered in an asteroid sample theconversation.com/all-5-fu… A new study reveals all five fundamental nucleobases – the molecular “letters” of life – have been detected in samples from the asteroid Ryugu. Asteroid particles offer a glimpse into the chemical ingredients that may have helped kindle life on Earth. The Ryugu samples were returned from space in 2020 by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Hayabusa2 mission. In 2023, an international team reported they had found one of the nucleobases in these samples – uracil. Now, in a study published in Nature Astronomy today, a team of Japanese scientists has confirmed all five nucleobases are present in this pristine asteroid material. This means these ingredients for life may have been widespread throughout the Solar System in its early years. [...]

#BiologicalWeapons #Biosecurity #ArtificialIntelligence #Governance AI Biosecurity Cannot Stop At The Chatbot eurasiareview.com/25102026-a… [...] There are already credible international foundations for addressing that boundary. In August, the World Health Organization introduced its Biorisk Implementation and Evaluation Tool, a voluntary method for countries and institutions to identify gaps and strengthen oversight of dual-use life-sciences research. WHO’s September update framed the challenge as enabling scientific progress while managing both inadvertent and deliberate misuse. Neither document delegates scientific judgment to a language model. The United States chose another route in July, issuing a new government-wide policy for high-risk life-sciences research that establishes restrictions and independent review for specified federally supported activities. It is not a global rule for all biological science. It does, however, recognize that funding, institutional oversight and accountability matter alongside the content of a research request. The physical supply chain has its own gaps. In June, the International Biosecurity and Biosafety Initiative for Science reported that synthetic DNA screening commitments are unevenly distributed across the global market, with intermediaries and third-party vendors remaining an important oversight challenge. Screening a transaction is valuable, but a supplier cannot be expected to know everything about a project merely from the material it is asked to provide. The regional dimension is already visible in Asia. A September 2026 perspective in a WHO regional journal described uneven biosecurity capacity across ASEAN as AI-enabled life sciences advance. Any global standard designed only for wealthy institutions with full-time compliance teams risks leaving the rest of the research ecosystem with obligations it cannot implement. [...]

#BiologicalWeapons #SyntheticBiology #ArtificialIntelligence #DualUse #Japan #Regulation Japan to draft DNA synthesis rules to prevent bioterror misuse amid AI worries mainichi.jp/english/articles… [...] As AI advances make it possible to design viruses and other entities not found in nature, discussions in the United States and Europe on strengthening safety measures are accelerating. In Japan, the Cabinet Office will set up a new expert panel to discuss drafting guidelines for screening dangerous DNA sequences and customers. Research institutions and pharmaceutical companies specify the DNA sequences they need and ask specialized companies to synthesize them in order to study how particular genes work or to give organisms new functions. This "contract synthesis" supports life sciences research as well as industries including medicine, drug discovery, agriculture and livestock. According to the Cabinet Office, the top five companies in the United States and Europe account for 50% to 60% of the global market, and Japan also has multiple synthesis companies. At the same time, rapid advances in AI and developments in DNA synthesis technology have heightened concerns that the synthesis could be misused to create dangerous viruses or bacteria. A research team from Stanford University and other institutions in the U.S. announced this year that it had succeeded in synthesizing DNA based on genetic information designed by AI and creating a virus that does not exist in nature. [...]