Health Policy Forum: Engineered Threats to Global Health

In 2024, a group of esteemed scientists publicly warned that a bacteria created entirely with mirror-image biomolecules (“mirror bacteria”)—though still years away—could potentially wipe out all life on earth. Gene editing techniques open possibilities of other risks that might be intentionally generated by bad actors, such as bacteria that are immune to all antibiotics and viruses which are engineered to be highly transmissible and deadly. What policies will protect global health from these serious threats while also preserving the potential therapeutic value of manipulated molecules? Please join two leading Stanford experts for a fascinating discussion of a rapidly emerging set of high-stakes scientific, ethical, and regulatory challenges.

Speakers: David A. Relman, MD, and Henry T. Greely, JD