Abstract
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Data storage, medical diagnostics, biomanufacturing, and many other parts of the bioeconomy rely on synthetic nucleic acids (NAs). Clinicians and researchers order custom DNA and RNA sequences from companies or print NAs on devices in their own labs. Increasingly accessible and affordable NA synthesis both enables beneficial biotechnology and raises biosecurity concerns. Some NAs can be used to construct pathogens, toxins, or other dangerous biological agents. If such sequences are misused, whether accidentally or deliberately, it could create catastrophic outcomes of pandemic proportions impacting population health and economic prosperity and resilience.