How biological risk is moving the Doomsday Clock

The Pathogens Project Conference took place in Geneva on April 19th and 20th, 2023. To begin the conference, the Bulletin unveiled this video exploring the interconnection of the Doomsday Clock and the growing danger of biological risks. In the coming years, humanity’s encounters with deadly viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens are likely to rise. Encroachment on the natural environment and climate-driven changes in ecosystems provide increasing opportunities for diseases to jump across species, including to humans. At the same time, there is a growing awareness that the field collection and experimental manipulation of potential pandemic viruses in high containment labs—while scientifically informative—carry the risk of accidentally seeding a pandemic. The video highlights many of the events that have moved the hands of the clock over the last seventy-six years from climate change to nuclear weapons testing, as well as a speech by UN Secretary General António Guterres, who emphasized the relev