Breaking news on bioterrorism
Discovery Networks Hostage-Taking A Rare Terror Event published
Mon, 06 Sep 2010 00:00:00 PDT
A new report by terrorism researchers at the University of Maryland concludes that the deadly hostage-taking incident at the Discovery Communications headquarters in suburban Washington, D.C. meets the criteria of a terrorist act - a rare one for media organizations and the nation's capital region. Hostage-taking, though, is a familiar pattern in capital-region terror, the researchers add...
Emergent Awarded NIAID Contract That Increases Potential Funding To Over $58 Million For Advanced Development Of Third Generation Anthrax Vaccine published
Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:00:00 PDT
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) announced today that it has signed a contract valued at up to $28.7 million with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), an institute within the National Institutes of Health (NIH), for advanced development of the company's third generation anthrax vaccine candidate...
Democrats Will Likely Push Again For Ground Zero Health Assistance published
Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:00:00 PDT
Democrats are likely to again push to give billions in health coverage assistance to Ground Zero workers when they return from their recess, Roll Call reports. "A Democratic leadership aide said Tuesday that the bill likely would get the green light for floor action shortly after the House returns Sept. 14 in conjunction with events planned to commemorate the ninth anniversary of the Sept...
Soligenix Announces Publication Of Article Identifying Domains Within The Ricin Toxin A Subunit As Targets Of Protective Antibodies published
Fri, 03 Sep 2010 02:00:00 PDT
Soligenix, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: SNGX) (Soligenix or the Company), a late-stage biopharmaceutical company, announced the publication of an article online in Vaccine. The article describes the systematic identification of neutralizing and non-neutralizing B-cell epitopes on ricin toxin's enzymatic A subunit (RTA)...
BARDA Funds Drug Development For Biothreats, Antibiotic Resistance published
Tue, 31 Aug 2010 02:00:00 PDT
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) awarded a contract to develop an antibiotic that could be used against possible two types of bioterrorism as well as common infections that are becoming resistant to antibiotics. The contract to Achaogen Inc. of San Francisco is for $27 million in the first two years...
Safer Foods For Human Consumption With Potential For Anthrax Protection published
Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:00:00 PDT
An antibacterial enzyme found in human tears and other body fluids could be applied to certain foods for protection against intentional contamination with anthrax, scientists reported at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). "Data from this study could be used in developing safer foods for human consumption," said Saeed A. Khan, Ph.D...
Purdue Biodefense Technology Project Awarded $1.3 Million NIH Seed Grant published
Fri, 27 Aug 2010 05:00:00 PDT
Purdue University researchers have developed a technology that has the potential to more quickly identify food-borne pathogens, aiding U.S. homeland security officials in responding to a bioterrorist attack or other emergencies. The research team, which is based at Discovery Park's Bindley Bioscience Center, has received a $1...
EasierTech Software, First In United States To Develop Software To Track Dangerous Chemicals For Universities published
Fri, 27 Aug 2010 05:00:00 PDT
The creation of new federal policies requiring universities to maintain detailed records about specific laboratory chemicals deemed dangerous has presents new challenges for the nation's institutions of higher education and hospitals...
Castor Bean Genome Published By Research Team Including Scientists From The Venter Institute published
Tue, 24 Aug 2010 01:00:00 PDT
A research team co-led by scientists from the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) and the Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS), University of Maryland School of Medicine, published the sequence and analysis of the castor bean (Ricinus communis) genome in Nature Biotechnology. Agnes P. Chan, Ph.D., JCVI, and Jonathan Crabtree, Ph.D., IGS were co-lead authors on the paper describing the 4...
PMO Compounds Show Promise Against Deadly Ebola, Marburg Viruses published
Mon, 23 Aug 2010 02:00:00 PDT
US scientists have discovered two compounds from a family known as antisense phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomers, or PMOs, can protect monkeys infected with Ebola and Marburg viruses from going on to develop lethal hemorrhagic fever, which has a 90 per cent fatality rate in humans; and they are now proceeding with clinical trials...
Research Program To Develop Medical Countermeasures Against Radiological, Nuclear Threats published
Mon, 23 Aug 2010 01:00:00 PDT
A major research effort to develop medical products to diagnose, prevent and treat the short- and long-term consequences of radiation exposure after a radiological or nuclear terrorist attack has been renewed by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health...
Feds To Revamp Bioterrorism And Flu Plans published
Mon, 23 Aug 2010 01:00:00 PDT
Federal officials say they will revamp strategies for dealing with bioterrorism and pandemic flu because efforts to develop medical solutions have lagged, the Los Angeles Times reports. They "announced a $1.9-billion makeover of the system for identifying and manufacturing drugs and vaccines for public health emergencies...
HHS Unveils $1.9B Strategy To Better Prepare For Biological Threats published
Mon, 23 Aug 2010 01:00:00 PDT
"Acknowledging that the development of medical countermeasures against bioterrorism threats and pandemic flu is lagging, [U.S.] federal authorities Thursday announced a $1.9 billion makeover of the system for identifying and manufacturing drugs and vaccines for public-health emergencies," Tribune Company/Seattle Times reports...
Review Of New Countermeasures For Bioterror And Pandemic Threats - Initial $2 Billion Investment, USA published
Sat, 21 Aug 2010 11:00:00 PDT
Kathleen Sebelius, US Department of Health and Human Services (HSS) Secretary, says that the USA needs to have a system that is nimble and flexible enough to rapidly produce medical countermeasures in the face of known or unexpected attacks or threats...
Rice Lab Developing Rapid Test For Cultivated Pathogens - Telltale Signs Of Bioterror published
Tue, 17 Aug 2010 05:00:00 PDT
Researchers at Rice University have won federal support to develop a genomic test that can quickly determine whether a disease outbreak is caused by a natural pathogen or one that was grown in a lab by terrorists...
Extremism: "Fused" People Eager To Die And Kill For Their Group, Research Shows published
Sun, 15 Aug 2010 00:00:00 PDT
People with extremely strong ties to their countries or groups are not only willing, but eager, to sacrifice themselves to save their compatriots, according to new psychology research from The University of Texas at Austin...
Today's OpEds: 'Good Guys' Win In Virginia Decision?; Readout On Missouri's Proposition C; Sen. Nelson On Reform And The Deficit; More published
Thu, 05 Aug 2010 05:00:00 PDT
Proposition C Is A Hollow Statute, Its Effect Unclear Kansas City Star The impact of [Missouri's] Proposition C was unclear before the vote, and remains so now that it's been passed. But a light turnout made clear what the vote wasn't: a sweeping referendum on health reform. An electorate seriously riled up about an issue sends more than roughly a fourth of registered voters to the polls (8/3)...
New York Lawmakers Trying To Revive 9/11 Health Care Bill published
Wed, 04 Aug 2010 04:00:00 PDT
Lawmakers are trying to bridge the gap between colleagues on the left and right in a bid to provide greater health coverage for 9/11 workers, The Wall Street Journal reports. "The bill was voted down [in the House] late Thursday night amid angry partisan finger-pointing, and now Democratic Rep...
The House Fails To Pass Aid Measure For Sick 9/11 Responders published
Mon, 02 Aug 2010 00:00:00 PDT
The Associated Press: "A bill that would have provided up to $7.4 billion in aid to people sickened by World Trade Center dust fell short in the House on Thursday, raising the possibility that the bulk of compensation for the ill will come from a legal settlement hammered out in the federal courts." The measure failed to draw the necessary two-thirds majority...
Thought Reading To Prevent Terrorism published
Mon, 02 Aug 2010 00:00:00 PDT
Imagine technology that allows you to get inside the mind of a terrorist to know how, when and where the next attack will occur. That's not nearly as far-fetched as it seems, according to a new Northwestern University study...
GOP Advising Republicans To Vote Against 9/11 Medical Coverage Bill published
Fri, 30 Jul 2010 03:00:00 PDT
Politico's On Congress Blog: House Republicans are advising other Republicans to vote against a bill that would "bolster medical support to Sept. 11 victims. ... The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2009, sponsored by New York City Rep...
TAU Helps Develop Early-Warning Hazard System For The World's Railways published
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:00:00 PDT
Thousands of people around the world have died in train wrecks caused by natural disasters. In 2004, the tsunami in Southeast Asia derailed a Sri Lankan train, killing 1,700 people. But with modern advances, these tragedies can be avoided - and a Tel Aviv University researcher, working in collaboration with teams from seven countries, is leading the way. Prof. Lev V...
IGEM Team Helps Prevent Rogue Use Of Synthetic Biology published
Wed, 21 Jul 2010 00:00:00 PDT
A team of students from ENSIMAG, an engineering school in Grenoble, France, and Virginia Tech is using bioinformatics to implement federal guidance on synthetic genomics. The students' work will help gene synthesis companies and their customers better detect the possible use of manufactured DNA as harmful agents for bioterrorism...
New Radiation Mechanism May Ward Off Cancer, Oil Spills And Terrorism published
Sat, 17 Jul 2010 00:00:00 PDT
Radiation similar to that used to treat cancer may someday help clean up environmental disasters such as the Gulf oil spill and detect explosive powder hidden underneath clothing...
PharmAthene Presents New Data For Lyophilized RPA Anthrax Vaccine Showing Enhanced Immunogenicity published
Fri, 16 Jul 2010 02:00:00 PDT
PharmAthene, Inc. (NYSE Amex: PIP), a biodefense company developing medical countermeasures against biological and chemical threats, announced results from a New Zealand White Rabbit study showing that its lyophilized recombinant Protective Antigen (rPA) anthrax vaccine was more immunogenic than a liquid formulation of rPA vaccine and produced a robust response with only 2 doses...
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