> "not taking these things seriously" is very different from regulating something in it's infancy because of fear of the unknown.

I don't pretend to have the answer of what the balance is for oversight and regulation to optimize safety and innovation - but the first step for those responsible is to recognize the potential dangers and unknowns, and produce plans that can be discussed and debated.

> Even accepting this hypothesis as true, is the answer that we should have regulated cell culture in the 50s when HeLa cell culture became a thing?

How about gain-of-function research? How about nuclear weapons? I lean libertarian but also recognize we have a responsibility to safeguard humanity.