| In recent years,human beings have faced serious biological threats such as emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases,bioterrorism attacks,and misuse of biotechnology.The2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia has posed a huge challenge to the global public health system.China urgently needs to strengthen its biodefense capabilities.Scientific and technological support plays an important role in the construction of biodefense capabilities,and biodefense research projects provide important support for the construction of national biodefense capabilities.The U.S.attaches great importance to biodefense research.Since the 1990 s,the U.S.has continuously strengthened biodefense research and initiated a large number of biodefense related research projects;after the September 11 terrorist attacks and the anthrax mail bioterrorism incident in 2001,the U.S.has greatly increased its investment in biodefense research and released much national strategies and research plans related to biodefense and has gradually formed a strong biodefense technology support system.In addition,the biosafety concern caused by some biodefense projects deployed by the U.S.in recent years has attracted widespread attention from the international community.At present,there is still lack of systematic analysis of the U.S.biodefense research projects in China.The main institutions that support biodefense research in the U.S.include the National Institutes of Health(NIH),Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Administration(BARDA),Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency(DARPA),Defense Threats Reduce Agency(DTRA)and some other institutions.A systematic analysis of the deployment and research characteristics of the U.S.biodefense research projects,and the biosafety issues or potential abuse risks that may be caused by some projects can provide a reference for capability building of biodefense science and technology in China.Based on the methods of intelligence research,bibliometrics,case study,expert consultation and comprehensive analysis,this study systematically analyzes the biodefense projects supported by the U.S.NIH,BARDA,DARPA and DTRA,and discusses the potential biosafety and biosecurity risks of some projects.In addition,based on the bibliometrics of COVID-19,this study analyzes the research layout of COVID-19 in China and the U.S.Firstly,this study analyzes the biodefense and coronavirus related research projects supported by NIH.NIH is an important institution that supports and conducts biodefense research in the United States.Based on the method of intelligence research,this study analyzes the biodefense research projects funded by NIH from fiscal years(FYs)2009 to 2018,discusses the characteristics of the NIH biodefense research projects in terms of project funding,institution distribution and main funding areas,and offers five recommendations for capability building of biodefense science and technology in China;analyzes coronavirus related research projects supported by NIH,discusses the characteristics of these projects as well as the impact of US science policy on such research.Secondly,this study analyzes the biodefense research projects supported by BARDA.BARDA,part of the U.S.Department of Health and Human Services,is an important agency for advanced research and development of biodefense medical countermeasures in the United States.Based on the method of intelligence research,this study analyzes the biodefense research projects funded by BARDA from fiscal years(FYs)2005 to 2018,discusses the characteristics of the BARDA biodefense research projects in terms of project funding,institution distribution and main funding areas;Based on the method of bibliometrics,this study analyzes the literature publication of BARDA scientific research projects.Thirdly,this study analyzes the biodefense research projects supported by DARPA and its potential biosafety and biosecurity risks.DARPA is an important funding and management agency for scientific research projects in the US military.Since the 1990 s,focusing on the major biological threats that affect the national security and military security of the United States,DARPA has deployed a series of biodefense related research projects,and has achieved a large number of research results.This study analyzes the DARPA biodefense research projects based on intelligence research;discusses the literature publication of DARPA life sciences related scientific research projects based on bibliometrics;and analyzes the potential biosafety and biosecurity risks of some DARPA scientific research projects based on expert consultation,comprehensive analysis,and case studies.Fourthly,this study analyzes the biodefense projects supported by DTRA and its potential biosafety and biosecurity risks.DTRA is not only an important threat response agency for weapons of mass destruction in the U.S.military,but also the core department and main coordinating body for the U.S.military biodefense related scientific and technological research.Since its establishment in 1998,DTRA has done a lot of biodefense work through the Biological Threat Reduction Program(BTRP)and the science and technology research programs of the Department of Defense Chemical and Biological Defense Program(CBDP).Based on intelligence research,this study analyzes the DTRA BTRP and the CBDP science and technology research programs managed by DTRA,and discusses the literature publication of DTRA life sciences related scientific research projects based on bibliometrics;and analyzes the potential biosafety and biosecurity risks of some DTRA scientific research projects based on comprehensive analysis and case studies.Fifthly,this study analyzes the literature publication of COVID-19 research and the comparison between China and the U.S.Since the outbreak of COVID-19,a large number of COVID-19-related reports have been published in journals or submitted to preprint platforms.In this study,we search the COVID-19-related literature officially published and included in the Web of Science(WOS)database or submitted to four preprint platforms: bio Rxiv,med Rxiv,Preprints,and SSRN.Using data on the number of reports,author institution,country,and research category,we analyze global trends in COVID-19 research,including institution distribution and research hotspots.The results show that the United States has contributed the most published literature,followed by China.The United States has published the most reports included in the WOS in the categories of non-pharmaceutical interventions,treatment,and vaccine-related reports,while China has published the most literature in the categories of clinical features and complications,virology and immunology,epidemiology,and detection and diagnosis.By systematical analysis of the scientific research projects supported by the major U.S.biodefense research institutions including the NIH,BARDA,DARPA and DTRA,and the focus of China and the U.S.in COVID-19 research,this study discusses the deployment and characteristics of the U.S.biodefense research,as well as the potential biosafety and biosecurity risks of some projects,so as to provide reference for the China biodefense researchers and policy management authority and recommendation for capability building of biodefense science and technology in China. |
