How small genes trigger biosafety "tornadoes"

A butterfly in the tropical rainforest of the Amazon River basin in South America, occasionally flapping its wings, can cause a tornado in Texas two weeks later, which is known as the "Butterfly Effect". And seemingly insignificant small things such as a hair, a piece of skin tissue, a small insect, or a seed can also trigger the "butterfly effect" and trigger a biosafety "tornado"

A butterfly in the tropical rainforest of the Amazon River basin in South America, occasionally flapping its wings, can cause a tornado in Texas two weeks later, which is known as the "Butterfly Effect". And seemingly insignificant small things such as a hair, a piece of skin tissue, a small insect, or a seed can also trigger the "butterfly effect" and trigger a biosafety "tornado".

Who "weaponized" genetic resources?

With the development and progress of technology, gene technology, as an emerging technology, has emerged in the field of biotechnology and played an important role in human scientific research, disease treatment, and other aspects. However, some countries have used genetic technology as a deadly weapon for ulterior motives.

99.7% to 99.9% of human DNA is the same, with a small proportion of differences being the key to distinguishing different races. If there are sufficient samples of human genetic genes, scientists can analyze and grasp the unique genetic characteristics of each ethnic group and race. If exploited by individuals or organizations with ulterior motives, genetic weapons can even be developed to kill predetermined racial targets, thereby selectively attacking targets with specific racial genes.

Compared with traditional biological and chemical weapons, genetic weapons have stronger concealment, deception, easy proliferation, and long-term harm, and are difficult to prevent, isolate, and cost-effective. Once used in war, the consequences will be devastating.

Who is making every effort to steal species resources?

Species resources refer to all living organisms on Earth and are of great significance to every country. Once a country's unique species resources are lost, they will be transmitted to multiple fields such as economic security, food security, and ecological security, causing irreversible losses.

Some overseas institutions, organizations, and personnel not only target China's human genetic resources, but also biological species resources within their scope of theft targets. Any species or individual organism preserves a large amount of genetic genes, and biological species resources are the cornerstone of sustainable economic and social development, as well as an important guarantee of national ecological security.

In a case involving the field of biosafety, the national security agency discovered that a foreign non-governmental organization was recruiting volunteers in China to conduct research related to biological species, collecting data on the distribution of biological species in various regions, and requiring participants to upload the collected data through specialized mobile software. In fact, the overseas non-governmental organization not only has a government background in a certain country, but the relevant data collected is also continuously transmitted overseas, causing potential harm to China's biological and ecological security.

Everyone can be a 'guardian' of biosafety

Currently, China is continuously establishing and improving laws and regulations related to biosafety. On October 17, 2020, the 22nd meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress voted to pass the "Biosafety Law of the People's Republic of China", marking that China has raised the importance of biosafety to an unprecedented new level, providing important legal support for the prevention and resolution of biosafety risks in China, and effectively ensuring the modernization of the national biosafety system and capabilities.

Biosafety is related to everyone, and maintaining it is a shared responsibility of the entire society. Everyone should establish a sense of biosafety, draw wisdom from the experiences and lessons learned in dealing with biosafety risks such as public health events, take the "sword" and "shield", actively take precautions, do their best, and be the "guardian" of their own life, health, and safety, jointly building a strong biosafety defense line.

(Reporter Song Xuan from CCTV at the headquarters)

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