Source: Ars Technica
Researchers have moved beyond protein design to use large language models trained on genomic sequences to generate novel viral genomes, crossing from prediction into active synthesis. Genome-scale generative models compress years of virology expertise into statistical patterns that anyone with compute access can manipulate—making it significantly easier to engineer pathogens without the institutional oversight that traditionally contained gain-of-function research. The same capability that accelerates vaccine development or therapeutic vector design now enables pathogen creation outside institutional review, exposing a gap between open science norms and biosecurity infrastructure built before algorithmic biology existed.