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Editorial


Nature Medicine 14, 891 (2008)
doi:10.1038/nm0908-891

Playing it safe


Dual-use research—research that could be misused to pose a threat to public safety—needs to be regulated, but the best way to do so is not straightforward at all.


Bruce Ivins' death has provided a grim reminder of the dangers of dual-use research, raising questions about the appropriate level of regulation that research of this type requires.Between 2001 and 2008, biosecurity spending in the US amounted to $41 billion.