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California unveils GIS initiative
Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) enhance the technology for environmental protection, natural resource management, traffic flow, emergency preparedness and response, land use planning, and health and human services; California wants to avail itself of the technology’s benefits
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Worry: Pandemic mutations in bird flu revealed
Despite the ability of H5N1 avian influenza virus to spread, it cannot be transmitted efficiently from human to human, indicating it is not fully adapted to its new host species, the human; new research, however, reveals mutations in the virus that may result in a pandemic
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Internet crawling helps in tracking infectious disease outbreaks
New Web crawling tool helps identify and locate outbreaks of disease around the world
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Salmonella outbreak investigation intensifies
Hunt continues for the source of the Salmonella outbreak in the U.S.; FDA and CDC still see tomatoes as the cause; this weekend three states in Mexico became the focal point of the search
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CDC investigates possible non-tomato salmonella sources
Continuing discovery of salmonella cases cause the FDA and CDC to suspect that fresh unprocessed tomatoes are not necessarily causing the outbreak that has sickened hundreds across the United States
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New biological, chemical decontamination solution
An airborne and surface decontamination system delivers a decontaminant mist that results in rapid surface area contact and full non-line-of-sight coverage
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Vegetarians not safe from mad cow prions
Infectious prions — thought to be the causative agents in mad cow disease and human vCJD — can survive wastewater decontamination and wind up in fertilizer, potentially contaminating fruit and vegetables
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Food inspection technology improves food safety
New inspection X-ray technology developed by European researchers is helping to ensure that the only thing in people’s dinners is the food itself
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Extreme weather events may unleash perfect storm of infectious disease
Climatic conditions can alter normal host-pathogen relationships; diseases that are tolerated individually may converge and cause mass die-offs of livestock or wildlife
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Worries about CDC pathogen handling
In a new $214 million infectious disease laboratory at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, scientists are conducting experiments on bioterror bacteria in a room with a containment door sealed with duct tape
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Environmental report on new Biolab
Following a GAO report which criticized how DHS decided on how research into contagious foreign animal and zoonotic diseases should be conducted, the Science and Technology Directorate of DHS issues a draft environmental impact statement and risk analysis for the six locations being considered for the new Biolab
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Genetically modified mosquitoes to fight malaria
Malaria kills three million people around the arodl each year; current methods of combatting the disease do not work; scientists examine the potential of genetically modifies mosquitoes for stopping the killer disease
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CDC counts 383 salmonella cases from tomatoes
The toll of the U.S. salmonella outbreak continues to rise; tomatoes from sections of Mexico and Florida remain the main suspects as the source of the outbreak
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Good results in tests for BioNeutral's anti-anthrax technology
New Jersey company uses its Ygiene formulation to kill anthrax spores on contact; formulation killed all anthrax spores exposed to the formulation in as little fifteen seconds
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Investing in biodefense companies, II
Billions of dollars are being spent on finding vaccines and treatments for possible bioterror attacks; investment analyst says that these billions of dollars in government spending notwithstanding, when considering an investment in a company doing R&D in the bioterror field, you should consider its non-terror-related biotechnology efforts, and the quality of its management team
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The long view
What We’ve Learned from Survivors of the Atomic Bombs
Q&A with Dr. Preetha Rajaraman, New Vice Chair for the Radiation Effects Research Foundation in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.
Combatting the Measles Threat Means Examining the Reasons for Declining Vaccination Rates
Measles was supposedly eradicated in Canada more than a quarter century ago. But today, measles is surging. The cause of this resurgence is declining vaccination rates.
Social Networks Are Not Effective at Mobilizing Vaccination Uptake
The persuasive power of social networks is immense, but not limitless. Vaccine preferences, based on the COVID experience in the United States, proved quite insensitive to persuasion, even through friendship networks.
Vaccine Integrity Project Says New FDA Rules on COVID-19 Vaccines Show Lack of Consensus, Clarity
Sidestepping both the FDA’s own Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee and the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), two Trump-appointed FDA leaders penned an opinion piece in the New England Journal of Medicine to announce new, more restrictive, COVID-19 vaccine recommendations. Critics say that not seeking broad input into the new policy, which would help FDA to understand its implications, feasibility, and the potential for unintended consequences, amounts to policy by proclamation.
Are We Ready for a ‘DeepSeek for Bioweapons’?
Anthropic’s Claude 4 is a warning sign: AI that can help build bioweapons is coming, and could be widely available soon. Steven Adler writes that we need to be prepared for the consequences: “like a freely downloadable ‘DeepSeek for bioweapons,’ available across the internet, loadable to the computer of any amateur scientist who wishes to cause mass harm. With Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4 having finally triggered this level of safety risk, the clock is now ticking.”
“Tulsi Gabbard as US Intelligence Chief Would Undermine Efforts Against the Spread of Chemical and Biological Weapons”: Expert
The Senate, along party lines, last week confirmed Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National intelligence. One expert on biological and chemical weapons says that Gabbard’s “longstanding history of parroting Russian propaganda talking points, unfounded claims about Syria’s use of chemical weapons, and conspiracy theories all in efforts to undermine the quality of the community she now leads” make her confirmation a “national security malpractice.”