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  • TECHNOLOGY FEATURE

Biothreat hunters catch dangerous DNA before it gets made

Microsoft researchers found a biological zero-day vulnerability — and created a software patch.
By
  1. Matthew Hutson

    1. Matthew Hutson is a science writer based in New York City.

Abstract 3D illustration of a tangle of gold and blue fibres

New techniques are coming into play to halt malevolent proteins in their tracks. Credit: Getty

DNA-synthesis firms routinely use -biosecurity-screening software to ensure that they don’t inadvertently create dangerous sequences. But a paper published in Science on 2 October describes a potential vulnerability in this workflow1.

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Nature 646, 503-505 (2025)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-03230-1

References

  1. Wittmann, B. J. et al. Science 390, 82–87 (2025).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Ikonomova, S. P. et al. Preprint at bioRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.05.15.654077 (2025).

  3. Wang, M. et al. Nature Biotechnol. 43, 845–847 (2025).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

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