Editor's Note

In 1346, the Black Death descended across Europe, killing about half of its population within 7 years. In 1918, an influenza virus swept over six continents and killed between 17 and 100 million people, as much as 5 percent of the global population at the time. And in 2019, a coronavirus ran rampant around the globe, killing more than 3.4 million people and ravaging economies.

Despite being armed with germ theory, vaccine and disease surveillance technology, and the ability to collaborate internationally at breakneck speeds, we failed to get in front of the recent COVID pandemic. And while the pandemic response casts light on some successes—such as Operation Warpspeed delivering a vaccine in only 326 days—other lessons have been slower to lead to substantive changes. Key increases to the pandemic-preparedness budget advanced by the Biden Administration, initially $30 billion, faced significant opposition. For example, the CDC’s public health surveillance work, which helps officials find and combat new outbreaks, was reduced from $500 to $300 million. Amounts allotted for testing and the rollout of further vaccination programs were also slashed.

Threats from synthetic biology present yet more cause for concern. As our ability to design DNA grows, so too does the danger we face from bad actors with access to novel pathogens. There are not nearly enough voices demanding that we find ways to avoid these harms while allowing for biotechnological innovation.

But our authors and readers are.

Over the next few days, we’re publishing articles about global biodefense, biosecurity, and pandemic prevention. In this special mini-issue, our authors tackle wide-ranging ideas, from the preparatory—such as how to screen synthetic DNA sequences for novel threats—to the logistical, including the importance of institutions that can provide accurate death counts and emerging technologies able to pinpoint outbreaks early, at their source.

Our goal in this mini-issue is to illustrate the importance of protecting human health while showcasing tractable ways to both prevent and prepare ourselves for future pandemics. We hope these pieces will inspire those working in biosecurity and policy, as well as inform folks outside these spheres about what needs doing and where.

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Thanks for reading,

Xander Balwit & Niko McCarty

The Editors

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