• Boston biolab: Panel urges review of possible lab threats

    As community opposition to the almost-complete Boston University biolab continues, a panel of experts says neighborhood’s concerns — and safety — should not be excluded from consideration of final approval for lab opening

  • DHS awards $844 million to secure U.S. critical infrastructure

    DHS awards millions to bolster security fo rail, truck, and bus transportation; department says awards are strictly risk-based

  • U.S. hospitals could not handle terror attack

    Inquiry into the disaster preparedness of hospitals in several major U.S. cities conclude that they are — and will be — incapable to handle even a modest terrorist attack in those cities; one reason for for the lack of hospitals’ capacity: the Bush administration’s cuts in Medicaid reimbursements to hospitals overwhelm emergency rooms with patients suffering from routine problems, leaving no capacity to absorb and treat disaster victims

  • U.K. science's reputation damaged by funding fiasco

    In December 2007, the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) — the U.K. main funding body for physics and astronomy, and a body which looks after some of the largest science centers in the country — was faced with a deficit of £80 million; a new report slams the SFTC funding decisions since then

  • Pennsylvania invests in water infrastructure

    Pennsylvania approves $72 million in low-interest loans and grants for 19 brownfields, drinking water, wastewater, and storm water projects in 15 counties

  • Meaningful farm bill reform effort fails yet again

    Current law allows subsidies to farmers with annual adjusted gross income of as much as $2.5 million; the administration and many legislators wanted to to end payments to producers with adjusted gross incomes greater than $200,000; agribusiness industry plowed more than $80 million into lobbying last year — and defeated the measure

  • U.K.'s Future Soldier / Science and Engineering Week a success

    Two events — Future Soldier and National Science and Engineering Week — took place in London, showing how government, industry, and academia can fruitfully cooperate to promote science, engineering, and technology education

  • National Infrastructure Bank idea gains momentum

    The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates it would take about $1.6 trillion to shore up the deteriorating U.S. infrastructure; against this figure, the $60 billion bond issue proposed by Senators Dodd and Hagel to finance a National Infrastructure Bank may not seem that significant — but still, it is a start (and Senators Obama and Clinton support it, too)

  • Massachusetts not ready for bioterror attack

    State auditor criticizes state’s preparedness for a bioterror attack; the state acquired ten medical trailers to treat victims, but one of them is missing

  • Budget, staff cuts hamper FPS

    Since being absorbed into DHS in 2003, the Federal Protective Service’s budget and staff have been steadily cut, with DHS transferring many of the service’s assignments to outside contractors; critics say this has gone too far

  • FDA criticized for ignoring health problems in spinach packing

    You may want to think twice before ordering spinach next time: Inspections of sixty-seven facilities found inadequate restroom sanitation, litter piles, and indoor condensation posing a risk of food contamination by microorganisms; the bad thing is that the FDA has taken no action to correct these breaches

  • Benefits and risks of close science-defense collaboration

    This week was National Science and Engineering week in the United Kingdom — and the London events and exhibit emphasized the contribution scientists and engineers make to the defense of the kingdom; a venerable engineering magazine says we should be just a bit cautious here lest we turn the battlefield of the future into a publicly funded industrial testing ground, where commercial pressure would overwhelm the sober considerations of defense decision makers

  • U.S. to lose a generation of young medical, biology researchers

    Five consecutive years of flat funding the budget of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is deterring promising young researchers and threatening the future of U.S. health, a group of seven preeminent academic research institutions warn

  • U.K., U.S. work together toward shared goals // Sir Alan Collins

    The shared goal of both the United States and the United Kingdom is safeguarding our citizens and the security of key national assets. Our governments are working collaboratively and have long recognized the need to work closely on science and technologies for security

  • Congressional funding for campus security urged

    There are 17 million students who live in open environments on college campuses across the United States; a year after the deadly Virginia Tech shooting, there are growing calls for Congress to help fund campus security; high-tech alert systems, such as text messaging, are seen as crucial to warn students of possible threats