-
FOOD SECURITYBiosecurity for Food Security
Biosecurity is a fundamental enabler for a country’s’ food security, a critical but often overlooked element of national security, and it is time for it to be treated accordingly.
-
-
BIOSECURITYHow Secure Is Gene Synthesizing Research?
Critics warn that the benefits of gene synthesizing research are undermined by security measures which are not sufficiently tight to prevent such research form being used by bad actors to do harm. One expert writes: “The problem is that governments don’t mandate security across the industry — and even though it’s a crime to ship DNA sufficient to generate the entire infectious 1918 influenza, there’s no law against shipping pieces of it.” The International Gene Synthesis Consortium disagrees.
-
-
BIOSECURITYCanada’s Biosecurity Scandal: The Risks of Foreign Interference in Life Sciences
In July 2019, world-renowned biological researchers Xiangguo Qiu and Keding Cheng were quietly walked out of the Canadian government’s National Microbiology Lab (NML). The original allegation against them was that Qiu had authorized a shipment to China of some of the deadliest viruses on the planet, including Ebola and Nipah. Then the story seemed to go away—until now.
-
-
BIORISKSAttributing Biological Weapons Use
Why is attribution of BW use important? During a biological incident, including BW use, what evidence might provide valuable information to facilitate attribution? What is the state of the science for determining the origin of a biological incident, including BW use? What capabilities does DoD possess or could it develop to facilitate attribution of BW use?
-
-
CROSS-BORDER THREATSStriving for a More Secure World
PNNL experts work with international partners to tackle cross-border biological and chemical threats. PNNL’s border security focus can be traced to the breakup of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. U.S. policy makers became concerned about the security of nuclear material in the newly independent states of the former U.S.S.R.
-
-
THE RUSSIA CONNECTIONPoisoning Critics: The Kremlin's Preferred Method of Dealing with Dissidents By Monir Ghaedi
A recent report indicates the Kremlin might be responsible for the poisoning of Russian journalists in exile. The cases appear to fit into a broader pattern of targeting dissidents: these recent poisonings are but the latest in a series of poisonings targeting Kremlin opponents and critics. Poison has long been a weapon used by security services in Russia to silence prominent political dissidents.
-
-
BIOTHREATSNatural or Not? Identifying Genetically Engineered Organisms
Ever since gene editing became feasible, researchers and health officials have sought tools that can quickly and reliably distinguish genetically modified organisms from those that are naturally occurring. Following the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, the world at large became aware of this need. Now, such tools are being built. The development of new tools to detect modified bacteria, viruses, and cells has bolstered national security against biological threats.
-
-
PUBLIC HEALTHScent Dogs Can Detect COVID-19 More Rapidly, Accurately Than Current Tests
Scent dogs may represent a cheaper, faster and more effective way to detect COVID-19, and could be a key tool in future pandemics, a new review of recent research suggests. The review found that scent dogs are as effective, or even more effective, than conventional COVID-19 tests such as RT-PCR.
-
-
ARGUMENT: SAFER VIROLOGICAL RESEARCHWe Could Easily Make Risky Virological Research Safer
Lab Accidents happen, and they aren’t especially rare. A new book — appropriately titled Pandora’s Gamble — offers a shocking accounting of the problem, identifying more than a thousand accidents reported to federal regulators from 2008 to 2012. David Wallace-Wells, referring to the recommendations from the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity on how to minimize the risks from research biolabs, writes: “These suggestions would not eliminate the risk of lab accidents, but they would reduce the risk — and fairly simply.”
-
-
POISONSPoisons Are a Potent Tool for Murder in Fiction – a Toxicologist Explains How Some Dangerous Chemicals Kill
People have used poisons throughout history for a variety of purposes: to hunt animals for food, to treat diseases and to achieve nefarious ends like murder and assassination. But what is a poison? Do all poisons act in the same way? Does the amount of the poison matter in terms of its toxicity?
-
-
CLOAK & DAGGERWho Was the Cold War “Umbrella Assassin?”
A new Danish documentary sheds some light on the shadowy figure of Francesco Gullino, alias “Agent Piccadilly,” the prime suspect in the 1978 murder of Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov in London.
-
-
CEHM-BIO THREATSPentagon Overhauls Chem-Bio Defense
DOD last week said it was overhauling its approach to countering chemical and biological weapons. Rather than continuing to focus on developing countermeasures for a specific list of threat agents, the Pentagon will develop measures that can adapt to a range of evolving biological and chemical threats.
-
-
BIOTHREATSYeast Material Developed for Training First Responders on Biothreats
First responders who train for emergencies involving threats from biological agents such as bacterial or viral pathogens, need to do so in a safe and careful manner. To help meet their needs, researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a reference material based on yeast cells.
-
-
BIOWEAPONSThe Pandemic: Implications for Terrorist Interest in Biological Weapons
What if the IS or al-Qaeda obtained and spread a highly contagious virus in a community or country that they sought to punish? With the pandemic highlighting weaknesses in response efforts, will these groups now seek to obtain infectious viruses to achieve these same deadly results?
-
-
ARGUMENT: DHS & BIODEFENSEReforming DHS’s Biodefense Operations and Governance
Today’s biological threats show no signs of desisting any time soon. Naturally occurring outbreaks, epidemics and pandemics, and laboratory accidents pose a growing challenge – while the number of high-containment laboratories and amount of dangerous research continues to increase unabated. “DHS, as chief among those federal departments and agencies responsible for securing the homeland, must overcome its current state of fractionation and demonstrate to the rest of the government, country, and world that it is capable of coordinating and leading efforts in biodefense and other arenas,” Carrie Cordero and Asha M. George write.
-