• RADIATION DETECTIONBioengineered Potato Plant Detects Gamma Radiation

    A researcher in the University of Tennessee Herbert College of Agriculture has developed a potato plant that can detect gamma radiation, providing reliable indications of harmful radiation levels without complex monitoring technologies. The natural radiation sensor is affordable, too.

  • PREPARING FOR DISASTERSWe Rarely Hear About the Disasters Which Were Avoided – but There’s a Lot We Can Learn from Them

    By Ilan Kelman, Ana Prados, Brady Podloski, and Gareth Byatt

    We frequently see headlines about disasters. But where are the headlines covering the good news of lives saved and damage averted when disasters do not happen? Our work, now published, offers examples we can learn from.

  • NUCLEAR WASTELos Alamos National Lab Safely Shipping Radiological and Hazardous Waste Off-Site

    A substantial amount of Los Alamos National Lab’s radiological and hazardous waste from years past was permanently disposed of at off-site facilities — a move in step with the Lab’s goal to mitigate hazards to workers, the community, and the environment while carrying out its national security mission.

  • CHEMICALSChlorine Is a Highly Useful Chemical That’s Also Extremely Dangerous − Here’s What to Know About Staying Safe Around It

    By Aliasger K. Salem

    Chlorine is extremely toxic, and because it’s ubiquitous in many industries across the U.S., it often is released in chemical accidents and spills. As with other household chemicals, it is very important to understand its risks, read labels before using it, store it in its original container in a secure place and dispose of it safely.

  • BRAIN WORMSThe Secret Life of Brain Worms

    By Andrea Wild

    Nematodes play an important role in our natural environment, including enhancing the quality of soil. But the discovery of a worm in a person’s brain was a surprise, even to our most experienced parasitologist.

  • MEDICAL CRIMESReport details Nazi Medical Crimes

    The Holocaust and other mass murders under the Nazi regime would hardly have been conceivable without the involvement of medical professionals. This has once again been highlighted by a commission of twenty international researchers who published a comprehensive report on Nazi medical crimes.

  • CROSS-BORDER THREATSStriving for a More Secure World

    By Allan Brettman

    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.

  • PUBLIC HEALTHArrest Made in Central California Bio-Lab Investigation

    Jia Bei Zhu, a citizen of China, was arrested earlier this week in California on a criminal complaint for manufacturing and distributing misbranded medical devices. Zhu and others manufactured, imported, sold, and distributed hundreds of thousands of COVID-19 test kits, in addition to test kits for HIV, pregnancy, clinical urinalysis, and other conditions in the United States and China.

  • FLOODSFloods Kill Long After the Water Has Gone

    People impacted by a flooding event are at significantly increased risk of dying – including heart and lung problems – in a crucial window between three and six weeks after the event, even after the flooding has dissipated.

  • FLESH-EATHING BACTERIAHurricane Ian Stirred Up Flesh-Eating Bacteria in Florida

    By Zoya Teirstein

    Hurricane Ian slammed into southwest Florida as a Category 4 storm in September last year, killing 149 people — the most deaths attributable to a single hurricane in the state in nearly a century. But the official death count didn’t include one of the most gruesome ways people died as a result of the storm: The state saw its highest number of vibriosis cases in more than 30 years.

  • FLESH-EATING BACTERIAFlesh-Eating and Illness-Causing Bacteria in Florida’s Coastal Waters Following Hurricane Ian

    When Hurricane Ian struck southwest Florida in September 2022, it unleashed a variety of Vibrio bacteria that can cause illness and death in humans. Experts say that thepathogenic Vibrio bacteria are on the rise due to climate change, and it’s a ‘serious concern.’

  • CYBERSECURITY$9.5 Million to Enhance Cybersecurity in Health Care

    By Miles Martin

    “Health care systems are highly vulnerable to ransomware attacks, which can cause catastrophic impacts to patient care and pose an existential threat to smaller health systems,” said an expert. Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have been awarded $9.5 million for research that aims to protect the United States health care system against hostile cyber threats.

  • FLESH-EATING ACTERIAFlesh-Eating Bacteria Infections Are on the Rise in the U.S. − a Microbiologist Explains How to Protect Yourself

    By Bill Sullivan

    Flesh-eating bacteria sounds like the premise of a bad horror movie, but it’s a growing – and potentially fatal – threat to people. In September 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a health advisory alerting doctors and public health officials of an increase in flesh-eating bacteria cases that can cause serious wound infections.

  • AIWalking the Artificial Intelligence and National Security Tightrope

    By Jack Goldsmith

    Artificial intelligence (AI) presents nations’ security as many challenges as it does opportunities. While it could create mass-produced malware, lethal autonomous weapons systems, or engineered pathogens, AI solutions could also prove the counter to these threats. Regulating AI to maximize national security capabilities and minimize the risks presented to them will require focus, caution and intent.

  • CYERSECURITYFuture-Proof Security Architecture for Healthcare Communications

    Electronic patient records, digital medication plans, e-prescriptions: These applications are all key elements of the telematics infrastructure (TI). Germany’s telematics infrastructure (TI) aims to allow healthcare professionals to exchange patient data securely, rapidly and from anywhere. The platform for healthcare applications will soon see a new, flexible and therefore future-proof security architecture.