Researchers reported computational models capable of designing complete bacteriophage genomes from scratch, demonstrating that AI can generate functional viral constructs. The work illustrates potential for rapid, de novo phage design to accelerate phage therapeutics, synthetic biology and microbiome engineering. Authors and commentators flagged consequential biosafety and biosecurity implications, calling for robust governance, defensive screening and transparent risk‑mitigation strategies as synthetic‑genome design moves from theory to practice.