The Biological Innovation for Open Society, or BIOS, will soon launch an open-source platform that promises to free up rights to patented DNA sequences and the methods needed to manipulate biological material.

Just like open-source software, open-source biology users own the patents to their creations, but cannot hinder others from using the original shared information to develop similar products. Any improvements of the shared methods of BIOS, the Science Commons or other open-source communities must be made public, as well as any health hazards that are discovered.

If the movement succeeds, biotech companies stand to lose their monopoly on creating integrated biological systems.

Some also fear that making the latest methods of genetic modification public will provide terrorists with the know-how to concoct new bioweapons.