Dual-use governance in an age of innovation

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Hereafter, page references without an accompanying citation refer to Tucker's volume.
Ian Ramshaw – now famous for his involvement in the mousepox studies, that paradigmatic example of dual use – has identified, in conversation and elsewhere (for example, Selgelid and Weir, p. 20), that the aims of the experiment that led to the mousepox study, involving inducing sterility in mice, is another form of dual use. It seems that this wider understanding of misuse – beyond harm – has been hinted at in the debate for some time, though I feel it is often overlooked.
It is also worth noting – though considering the terminological difficulties surrounding the field, perhaps less important – that if there is a difference between ‘open-access’ and ‘open-source’ biology, it is not developed.

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School of Philosophy, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
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Evans, N. Dual-use governance in an age of innovation. BioSocieties 8, 96–100 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1057/biosoc.2012.37

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