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Synergetics to support Animal Health and Surveillance Management
Coloradan IT company wins a multi-year contract with USDA to “beef” up its livestock health monitoring system; software to undergo vigorous testing and overhaul; new forms for disease reporting
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Aethlon Medical moves forward with Hemopurifier
System removes viral pathogens such as Marburg and smallpox from human circulation; company requests an investigational device exemption under Project BioShield; dengue-related tests to begin in India
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CDC awards $11.4 million in contracts for avian flu diagnostics
Agency hopes for a rapid bedside test that can be used by untrained personnel; winners are Cepheid, IQuum, Meso Scale Diagnostics, and Nanogen; more money forthcoming for successful companies
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Interpol proposes model anti-bioterror law
Agency hopes to encourage states to criminalize the development and transfer of deadly pathogens; many countries limit prosecution to actual use; investigatory restrictions a major problem for some
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GreeneChip offers rapid diagnosis of 30,000 pathogens
Unlike systems that can only test blood samples, new technology can assay tissue, urine, and stool; from Marburg to urinary tract infections, Columbia University’s GreeneChip offers a fast and inexpensive testing regime
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Llama blood to assist in detecting pathogens
Breakthrough effort at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research manipulates antibodies that can survive high temperatures; single-chain molecules do not fold under heat; Marburg and ebola assays first on the agenda
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UK asks scientists to serve as bioterror barometers
After a Guardian reporter buys smallpox DNA on-line, the British government asks the Royal Society and other scientific bodies to keep a close look-out for emerging threats
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Colorado researchers produce a better chemical warfare suit
Conventional butyl rubber is blended with polymerizable liquid crystal; water transfer rates and permeability substantially improved, allowing for lighter and safer suits; other applications include filters for brine and contaminated water
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Longwatch to participate in WaterSentinel
Company will install remote video alarm monitoring services; WaterSentinel a major push to secure nation’s water supplies; integration with SCADA protocol a major factor in winning such projects; company looks for installation and integration partners
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Nations review the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention
Sponored by the Green Cross, meeting in Geneva takes on biowarfare and natural disease outbreaks; concerns linger over nonsignatories; biotech seen as key line of defense
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Hackensack to deploy three in one mobile medical response unit
Federal funding of $3.2 million makes this unique approach possible; FEMA’s Carolina Med1 unit seen as too large for Hackensack’s streets; a trauma unit, surgery bay, and lab can operate seperately or as a aingle unit
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Canada Foundation for Innovation awards homeland security grants
Research into protecting infrastructure and developing new energy sources receive special attention; hundreds of million of Canadian dollars awarded for a wide range of scientific endeavors; Universities of Toronto and Calgary among winners
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New "gene chip" quickly and inexpensively identifies bird flu
Unlike previous diagnostics, technology developed by researchers at the University of Colorado and the CDC relies on a single isolated virus gene; matric gene a target because it evolves extremely slowly, meaning that test can last a while without being tweaked; researchers currently looking to bring test to market
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USDA and Spanish scientists develop anti-E. coli food wrap
Made from apple puree and oregano oil, product could displace traditional water-based washes; essential oils have natural antimicrobial abilities, but oregano is best against E. coli; sugary coating permits long-term adhesion to fruits and vegetables
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Nanotechnology allows for rapid detection of viruses
Forget waiting anxiously for days for lab test results; a new nanotechnology allows for detection of dangerous viruses within seconds — something which patients will appreciate as much as homeland security and first responders eager to identify a bioterror attack sooner rather than later
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The long view
What Happened after an Explosion at a Russian Disease Research Lab Called VECTOR?
In September, a mysterious, powerful explosion shook-up a vast Soviet-era virology campus in Siberia called VECTOR. Filippa Lentzos writes that around the world, people in the know sat up and took notice, and for a good reason. Was the explosion the result of a deliberate attack by terrorists who were trying to gain a hold of deadly cultures to be used in bioterror attacks? Or was it an accident which, as was the case with an explosion at a similar facility forty years ago, would expose illicit bioweapons activities by Russia?
We Must Talk More about Measles — and Less about Anti-Vaxxers
There are two basic stories we hear when talking about measles: first, that the disease has more or less been eradicated, and second, that it has resurfaced — more than 440,000 cases were reported worldwide between January and November — because of mindless anti-vaxxers who ignore science, mistrust experts, and who spfread misinformation from the comfort of their Internet echo chambers. “Both of these narratives, however, are, at best, partial truths,” Laurence Monnais writes.
Scary Fact: Vaccination Rates are Falling in Some States
When Peter J. Hotez moved from Boston to Texas to become the Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine and Professor of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology & Microbiology, Baylor College of Medicine, he was surprised to discover the how many children in Texas and other Western states are not vaccinated owing to various exemptions. “In the past year, Europe has been inundated with measles, including dozens of deaths, due to large declines in vaccine coverage. I’m concerned the U.S. could suffer a similar fate,” he writes.