flowchart LR
A[Part I:<br/>Foundations] --> B[Part II:<br/>Operational<br/>Biosecurity]
B --> C[Part III:<br/>Democratization<br/>of Biology]
C --> D[Part IV:<br/>AI and<br/>Biosecurity]
D --> E[Part V:<br/>Governance<br/>and Futures]
style A fill:#ffffff,stroke:#c9a961,stroke-width:2px,color:#334155
style B fill:#ffffff,stroke:#c9a961,stroke-width:2px,color:#334155
style C fill:#ffffff,stroke:#c9a961,stroke-width:2px,color:#334155
style D fill:#ffffff,stroke:#c9a961,stroke-width:2px,color:#334155
style E fill:#ffffff,stroke:#c9a961,stroke-width:2px,color:#334155
click A "/foundations/what-is-biosecurity.html"
click B "/frameworks/laboratory-biosafety.html"
click C "/biotechnology/synthetic-biology.html"
click D "/ai-biosecurity/index.html"
click E "/frameworks/bwc-governance.html"
The Biosecurity Handbook
Biological Security in the AI Era
A guide for two communities that don’t speak the same language.
Welcome to The Biosecurity Handbook
The same AI that accelerates drug discovery can accelerate the design of dangerous pathogens. Biology is getting easier to engineer, and governance has not caught up. Written for two communities that need each other’s expertise: biosecurity professionals who need AI context, and AI safety researchers who need biological grounding.
Three questions drive every chapter: How do emerging technologies change biological risk? What governance frameworks exist and where do they fail? What does credible preparedness and response require?
This resource is continuously updated as new research emerges.
A Note on Dual-Use Content
This handbook addresses biological security risks. Technical details that could enable misuse are cited from peer-reviewed literature but not expanded upon. The focus is frameworks, governance, and risk assessment, not operational protocols.
Start Here
Start with the risk frame, then read how AI changes biological risk. This path shows how the handbook separates biosecurity fundamentals from AI-enabled risk.
- Executive Summary: Key findings and recommendations
- What Is Biosecurity?: Core concepts and scope
- AI as a Biosecurity Risk Amplifier: How AI changes biological risk
Then continue to Policy Frameworks for AI-Bio Convergence for governance context.
For role-specific reading paths, see the Preface.
Book Structure
- Part I: Foundations (Chapters 1–3) – Biosecurity concepts, threat landscape, pathogens of concern
- Part II: Operational Biosecurity (Chapters 4–9) – Laboratory biosafety, DURC, surveillance, countermeasures, forensics, global equity
- Part III: Democratization of Biology (Chapters 10–13) – Synthetic biology, DNA screening, gain-of-function, gene drives
- Part IV: AI and Biosecurity (Chapters 14–22) – AI fundamentals, risk amplification, LLM hazards, pathogen design, defense, red-teaming
- Part V: Governance and Futures (Chapters 23–25) – BWC, policy frameworks, future scenarios
Companion Handbooks
The Physician AI Handbook
Clinical AI across every ACGME-recognized medical specialty: FDA-cleared diagnostic tools, clinical decision support, AI-assisted documentation, LLMs in clinical practice, medical liability, privacy and HIPAA, workflow integration, and evaluation frameworks. Peer-reviewed evidence from JAMA, NEJM, Lancet, and specialty journals. For physicians, health system leaders, and anyone building or deploying clinical AI.
The Public Health AI Handbook
AI applications across population health: disease surveillance, epidemic forecasting, genomic pathogen analysis, outbreak detection, health department implementation, deployment failures, AI-assisted coding for epidemiological analysis, behavioral interventions, and health misinformation. For epidemiologists, public health practitioners, and health department leaders.
The Life Sciences AI Handbook
AI for biomedical discovery, molecular design, cellular systems, laboratory automation, and translational research. For researchers, biotechnology teams, computational biologists, physician-scientists, and students evaluating AI systems across molecules, cells, experiments, and therapeutic development.
License & Citation
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
You are free to: Share, copy, redistribute, adapt, remix, and build upon this material for any purpose, including commercially, with attribution.
Full license details | CC BY 4.0 Legal Code
How to Cite
Tegomoh, B. (2025). The Biosecurity Handbook: Biological Security in the AI Era. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18252920. URL: biosecurityhandbook.com