0:03
biotechnology is changing our world at
0:05
an incredible Pace it's in our clothes
0:08
our food and our pets with the power to
0:11
cure diseases and create deadly viruses
0:15
this field is reshaping what it means to
0:17
control biology our rapid advances in
0:20
biotechnology come from a combination of
0:23
reduced costs and freely shared
0:25
knowledge for instance in 1990 the human
0:30
Genome Project began costing $3 billion
0:33
and taking 13 years today the cost of
0:36
decoding a human genome is just
0:39
$1,000 and it's largely automated making
0:42
it accessible to many more scientists
0:45
this growing accessibility while
0:48
incredible also presents a significant
0:50
risk viruses even those potentially
0:54
lethal to humans are widely studied in
0:56
labs around the world the genetic
0:58
information of these virusis is readily
1:01
available and can be ordered online by
1:05
researchers this combined with the
1:07
falling costs of Biotech equipment
1:09
increases the risk of a deadly virus
1:11
being created and released either by
1:14
accident or with malicious intent in the
1:18
face of this dual edged sword it's
1:20
crucial we learn from history the
1:22
nuclear technology industry was born
1:24
with an understanding of its potential
1:26
for harm leading to strict regulations
1:29
and oversight we must apply the same
1:32
vigilance to biotechnology managing
1:35
dangerous aspects with caution experts
1:38
suggest a three-step approach delay
1:41
detect and Destroy treat dangerous viral
1:45
data as an infohazard that must be
1:48
carefully controlled establish detectors
1:51
in populated areas to monitor for
1:53
rapidly spreading viruses develop tools
1:56
to neutralize threats before they become
2:00
such as virus killing UV lamps and
2:02
faster vaccine development biotechnology
2:06
isn't inherently good or bad it holds
2:08
the potential to revolutionize our world
2:11
from eradicating diseases to making
2:15
resistant we need to harness this power
2:18
wisely to safeguard our future balancing
2:21
the rewards and risks effectively
2:24
organizations such as open philanthropy
2:27
and 80,000 hours are helping guide
2:30
careers in this field to tackle these
2:33
challenges at the same time it's
2:35
essential to maintain high standards of
2:38
accuracy and integrity in sharing
2:42
biotechnology take the example of a
2:44
science information provider who after
2:47
mistakenly posting an incorrect
2:49
evolutionary tree was flooded with
2:52
criticism instead of retreating they
2:54
used the incident as a motivation to
2:57
improve leading to a detailed expert
3:02
evolution this is a model how we must
3:05
approach the emerging world of
3:07
biotechnology with curiosity humility
3:10
and a commitment to the truth in this
3:13
way we can use biotechnology to create a
3:16
future where we triumph over pandemics
