IINA: Biotechnology in the Era of Omni-Use: Technologies Without Borders and the Governance Challenges They Present

By Kiwako Tanaka, Associate Professor at Toyo Eiwa University

Life science technologies have recently made remarkable advances. Progress in synthetic biology and genome analysis has dramatically accelerated the development of medical technologies that once required long periods of time. A symbolic example is the mRNA vaccines that were rapidly developed and distributed in response to COVID-19. At the same time, these technological foundations also carry the risk of being misused in unforeseen ways. Between spring and summer 2023, 23andMe, a company providing DNA testing services, suffered a major cyberattack, resulting in the genetic information of approximately seven million people being leaked. It was reported that the leaked data included information that could identify individuals of specific ethnic backgrounds.