To amend the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation Act to support nucleic acid screening, and for other purposes.

Plain-English summary

Nucleic Acid Standards for Biosecurity Act This bill explicitly requires the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to support the development of best practices and technical standards for nucleic acid synthesis. Nucleic acids, including deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA), carry genetic information within cells. Nucleic acid synthesis is the process of designing and creating custom nucleic acids; it is used in the development of medications and agricultural products. However, this technology also poses a risk of misuse (e.

Deterministically condensed from the official CRS summary; verify details in the official record.