Securebio Inc

As part of its SecureDNA project, the organization continued to make significant progress in 2024 on its gene synthesis screening software. The team released an alpha version and prepared for a public beta launch. This free software offers best-in-class performance in screening criteria and runs against a continuously updated hazard database. SecureDNA uniquely integrates with both vendor order flows and benchtop synthesizers. The organization successfully tested with major manufacturers and collaborated with leading gene synthesis companies. Two papers were prepared for submission to peer-reviewed journals, one on the screening system and another on its cryptographic architecture. These advancements further the organization's goal of securely monitoring synthetic DNA orders against various public health hazards.

The organization is developing measurement tools to assess AI systems' potential contribution to global catastrophic biological risks and creating mitigation strategies for when AI capabilities cross specific risk thresholds. Working with government and industry partners, they aim to de-risk upcoming AI model releases against severe biological hazards. The team has already published a pre-print on biorisks associated with model weight proliferation in Large Language Models, garnering major media attention. Their ongoing projects include research on risks from frontier models, developing benchmarks to evaluate large language models' biosecurity-relevant capabilities, creating task-based assessments for frontier systems' autonomous capabilities, and implementing technical interventions for risk mitigation, such as model unlearning of dual-use biological concepts and enhancing adversarial robustness against dual-use input prompts.

The organization focuses on pandemic-proof personal protective equipment PPE that reliably shields essential workers against highly infectious agents without requiring fit-testing, ensuring the maintenance of critical infrastructure during pandemics. To enhance the availability and accessibility of this crucial equipment, the organization has undertaken several key initiatives. These include mapping critical infrastructure and essential workers, identifying cost-reduction strategies, advocating for public funds to build and maintain stockpiles, and exploring market mechanisms to support government efforts in stockpiling pandemic-proof PPE. Through these activities, the organization aims to strengthen pandemic preparedness and protect those who must continue working during health crises.

As part of its work on the FAR-UVC project, the organization conducted an in-depth examination of the safety of far-UVC germicidal light throughout 2023. This comprehensive study involved convening a group of experts for both in-person and remote workshops over a 12-month period. The culmination of this extensive research was the release of a major paper on far-UVC safety, effectively concluding the organization's work on this project. While the organization designed a clinical study to further investigate the application of far-UVC technology, it determined that executing such a trial was not feasible given the available resources. This decision marked the completion of the organization's active involvement in the FAR-UVC research initiative.