The Risks of Manufactured Viruses - Dr. Kevin Esvelt Talking Biotech with Dr. Kevin Folta

Can biotechnology be used in malevolent ways? The simple and inexpensive ways to generate genetic material make creating viruses easier than ever. Dr Kevin Esvelt from MIT's Media Lab discusses how DNA could be used to drive a new pandemic, or become the basis of biological weapons. The discussion addresses the realistic potential malevolent use of biological tools, the risk of molecular biology tools being weaponized, along with potential mitigation strategies.