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DTN 188: U.S. imposes new rules on ordering synthetic DNA

Plus: IBM Quantum Nighthawk reaches new levels of speed, Radical Numerics fights AI bioweapons with AI, Synchron pauses BMI trials, Anthropic buys $4.3B of turbines, X-energy gets green light for SMRs, Allen Control Systems launches counter-drone laser division, and more.

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“Building the equipment is one thing. Delivering it to the front line is a completely different situation. So having distributed manufacturing capability enables you to move manufacturing as far forward as possible. In my ideal world, you have outposts in the Pacific where you’re able to produce equipment on-site. I think additive manufacturing is a core unlock of frontline manufacturing and it’s a theme we’ve spent a lot of time on.”

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U.S. imposes new rules on ordering synthetic DNA

“As concerns mount that artificial intelligence could make creating dangerous pathogens even easier, U.S. government–funded scientists who make and manipulate DNA sequences will face tougher regulations. The National Policy for Nucleic Acid Synthesis Screening, released on 5 November, will for the first time require these researchers to procure synthetic nucleic acids and benchtop synthesis equipment from U.S.-approved suppliers. Those vendors must verify their customers’ identities and screen orders for potentially dangerous sequences that, for example, could encode toxins or pathogens.

The policy, whose requirements will roll out in stages over the next 340 days, replaces a voluntary system of self-regulation, and some biosecurity experts view it as an important, if partial, step in the right direction. ‘It’s great, because it does something instead of nothing,’ says Kevin Esvelt, a biotechnologist and biosecurity expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ‘It will make it harder to misuse DNA.’” (via Science)

A satellite built by the Polish startup Orbital Matter 3D-printed a half-meter long beam out of a custom plastic material, in what executives called a first for a free-flying spacecraft in orbit, and a step toward constructing large structures in space. (Image: Orbital Matter/TechCrunch)

"The company's small satellite, Replicator 2, was launched on a SpaceX rideshare mission this summer, with four of the company's 3D printers onboard. Each printer can create a rigid, cylindrical beam by extruding coils of resin that are cured by an ultraviolet light, which the company analogizes to cement and water. This technology matters because future spacecraft will need to be larger in order to generate more electrical power and radiate a more heat into the vacuum of space, particularly if they’re going to serve as orbital data centers. But they’ll still need to fit into the tight confines of the fairing on top of the rocket that carries them into orbit. If spacecraft are able to construct their own structures in orbit, the power and heat-dissipation challenges may get a lot easier to solve." (via TechCrunch)

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