The Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction, reports U.S. News & World Report, had a crucial message for life-science researchers:

The prospect of weaponizing organisms is now greater than ever … particularly given the explosion in the number and quality of advanced biotech labs at the world’s colleges and universities …
At the same time, terrorist groups currently lack both the materials and the scientific know-how to produce biological weapons … but … that hurdle could be overcome if the price were right …
When the nuclear age began with a mushroom cloud, the commission notes, “all those who worked in the nuclear industry in any capacity, military or civilian, understood they must work and live under a clear and undeniable security mandate. But the life sciences community has never experienced a comparable iconic event. As a result, security awareness has grown slowly, lagging behind the emergence of biological risks and threats” …
the dangers of a biological attack should prompt a change in the culture of the life sciences community, to one in [sic] which ”sensitizes researchers to biosecurity issues and concerns.”