The United States has limited access to medical data for scientists from Russia, Iran, DPRK, China and other countries with authoritarian regimes

Since April 4, national healthcare institutions have limited access to a number of medical databases with controlled access (Controlled-CCCESS DATA Repositories, CADR) for scientists and organizations from Russia, China, Iran, DPRK, Cuba and Venezuela. Among the inaccessible resources are the key oncological baseSeer , containing detailed cancer statistics in all US states.

The restrictions entered into force on the decree of the former president Joe Biden No. 14117 of February 28, 2024. The document is aimed at preventing the access of the so -called “foreign opponents” (Foreign Adversaries) to the confidential personal data of Americans, including genetic information, biometrics, accurate geodatic and medical information. According to the decree, countries that cause concern can use advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, for analysis and possible manipulation of data arrays for purposes that contradict the interests of the United States.

The explanatory note from the US Department of Justice emphasizes that “foreign opponents” are increasingly using legal and illegal methods to collect sensitive information. The agency emphasizes that “countries that cause concern” can use such access for cyberspilation, interference in internal affairs, strengthening military potential and surveillance of US citizens, including military, intelligence officers and federal agencies. These data can also be used to collect information about activists, journalists, dissidents, political opponents, as well as representatives of NPOs or marginalized groups - in order to intimidate them, suppress the opposition and restrict the freedom of expression.

The junior researcher at the Institute of Regenerative Medicine of Sechenov University, Sergei Tkachmen, believes that the new NIH restrictions can potentially cause serious damage to Russian science and medicine, since modern pharmaceutical developments are often based on a comprehensive analysis of the genome. At the same time, weaving admits that with the help of NIH data it was possible to study how American society is arranged, how the population is sick and what potential vulnerabilities it has:

“Genetics becomes a powerful analytical tool, since it gives an idea not only about specific diseases, but also about the fundamental laws of health in the population of the population.”

In turn, a molecular biologist, researcher at Moscow State University and author of the Science Telegram channel Sergey Kharitonov believes that the base can be used through VPN:

“We are doing this with most foreign services, so I don’t think that the blocking will be noticeable.”

In 2022, Russian experts had already lost access to HGMD (Human Gene Mutation Database) - a large database of mutations, which is widely used to interpret the research results, including cancer.