I'm curious what such a "monitoring network" would theoretically involve if it's supposed to catch private citizens doing things privately on their private property.
That's the right question to ask. Realistically, it would look like better coordination between state environmental agencies, local code enforcement, and federal biosafety oversight — things like requiring registration for certain equipment purchases (centrifuges, autoclaves, PCR machines at scale), mandatory reporting from commercial landlords when tenants request biosafety-level modifications, and giving local health departments actual authority to inspect suspicious facilities without waiting for a federal warrant. None of that is exotic — it's basically what we already do for meth labs and hazardous waste. The gap isn't capability, it's that nobody in the regulatory chain is assigned to care.
"Justin" raises a good point? As in, you? You're praising yourself in the 3rd person now?
No offense, but that only seems probable if 1) you have multiple accounts and sometimes use your other accounts to AstroTurf positive engagement with your main account, 2) you have other people allowed to use your account and one of them somehow got so sloppy they didn't notice they were referencing the same account they were using, 3) you let AI use your account and it lost track of the fact that it is impersonating you...
The question is why aren’t laws being passed by Congress. If we had a decent news service with real journalists, this would be publicized much more, and Congress would have to act.
Spot on. The regulatory vacuum is the real story. It's not just a news problem; it's a structural failure that allows these labs to hide in plain sight.
Maureen, you hit on the most frustrating part. Congress only seems to find its spine when the cameras are on, and the cameras only turn on when there's a legacy media narrative. Without that cycle, these labs remain 'local code enforcement' issues instead of national security threats.
The "welcomes competition" line is darkly funny — and not entirely wrong. The uncomfortable truth is that our own government has funded gain-of-function research for decades while failing to monitor who else is doing it on our soil. The Reedley lab should have been the wake-up call. The fact that we found a second one means it wasn't.
I'm curious what such a "monitoring network" would theoretically involve if it's supposed to catch private citizens doing things privately on their private property.
That's the right question to ask. Realistically, it would look like better coordination between state environmental agencies, local code enforcement, and federal biosafety oversight — things like requiring registration for certain equipment purchases (centrifuges, autoclaves, PCR machines at scale), mandatory reporting from commercial landlords when tenants request biosafety-level modifications, and giving local health departments actual authority to inspect suspicious facilities without waiting for a federal warrant. None of that is exotic — it's basically what we already do for meth labs and hazardous waste. The gap isn't capability, it's that nobody in the regulatory chain is assigned to care.
... I copy/pasted a reply that someone gave me via twitter group DM. apologies. Apologies Steven
"Justin" raises a good point? As in, you? You're praising yourself in the 3rd person now?
No offense, but that only seems probable if 1) you have multiple accounts and sometimes use your other accounts to AstroTurf positive engagement with your main account, 2) you have other people allowed to use your account and one of them somehow got so sloppy they didn't notice they were referencing the same account they were using, 3) you let AI use your account and it lost track of the fact that it is impersonating you...
The question is why aren’t laws being passed by Congress. If we had a decent news service with real journalists, this would be publicized much more, and Congress would have to act.
Spot on. The regulatory vacuum is the real story. It's not just a news problem; it's a structural failure that allows these labs to hide in plain sight.
Maureen, you hit on the most frustrating part. Congress only seems to find its spine when the cameras are on, and the cameras only turn on when there's a legacy media narrative. Without that cycle, these labs remain 'local code enforcement' issues instead of national security threats.
Many thanks for this article!
Perhaps the federal government welcomes competition? (labs creating biological weapons)
It's not enough to quit doing drug development work for pharma. Now we must protect the public!!
The "welcomes competition" line is darkly funny — and not entirely wrong. The uncomfortable truth is that our own government has funded gain-of-function research for decades while failing to monitor who else is doing it on our soil. The Reedley lab should have been the wake-up call. The fact that we found a second one means it wasn't.