Governance of dual-use research: a publishers' and editors’ perspective: meeting report, 30 September 2025

Overview

This meeting report summarizes discussions convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 30 September 2025 with representatives of major scientific journal publishers, editors and a preprint publisher to examine the governance of dual-use research (DUR) in the life sciences.

Building on the WHO Global guidance framework for the responsible use of the life sciences, the dialogue explored current editorial practices for identifying, assessing and managing research that may present safety or security risks while preserving the benefits of scientific innovation, transparency and collaboration. Participants reviewed existing approaches, including author declarations, expert review processes and escalation mechanisms, and discussed challenges associated with differing definitions of DUR, emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, awareness gaps among researchers and the increasing complexity of risk assessment.

The report highlights tensions between openness, reproducibility and the need to prevent misuse of sensitive information, as well as vulnerabilities arising from alternative publication routes. Key conclusions emphasize the need for greater harmonization of assessment approaches, expanded expertise in emerging fields, improved education and awareness, strengthened management of sensitive data and code, and continued collaboration among publishers, editors, WHO and other stakeholders to support responsible governance of dual-use research.