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Tularemia bacteria detected in Columbus, Ohio; no bioterror attack suspected
BioWatch sensors in Columbus, Ohio, last week picked up higher than normal presence of the bacteria tularemia — a bacteria which may be used in bioterror attacks; Columbus Public Health officials continued to emphasize that people are not at risk and there is no suspicion that bioterrorism was attempted here
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ACLU blasts Michigan prosecutors for bioterrorism charge against HIV-positive man
Prosecutors in Michigan are charging an HIV-positive man with violating the state’s bioterrorism law for biting his neighbors during an altercation; the ACLU claims the statute behind the state’s bioterrorism law was not intended to cover an HIV-person biting another person; prosecutors charged the man with assault and later added a bioterrorism charge on claims he was trying to use the virus as a weapon
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Students design innovative wastewater treatment process for removing pharmaceuticals
More and more pharmaceuticals end up in countries’ water supply; four Canadian chemical engineering students have designed an advanced wastewater treatment system which would remove 90 percent of pharmaceuticals and endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) using commercially available technology
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Synthesized polymer neutralizes both biological and chemical weapons
Biological tissues to respond rapidly and appropriately to changing environments; this logic was applied by University of Pittsburgh researchers: they have synthesized a single, multifunctional polymer material that can decontaminate both biological and chemical toxins
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Experts: Weak biosafety laws in Africa an invitation to bioterrorists
To feed the growing number of people on the African continent, food production on the continent must be increased by up to 300 percent by 2050, and scientists say the only way to do so is by using biotechnology; many are worried that weak or nonexistent biosafety laws in Africa would make it easy for bioterrorists to exploit increased biotechnology activity for their nefarious purposes
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Korean scientists develop fast, accurate pathogen detection sensor
On average 540 million people become sick with harmful bacteria every year with fifteen million losing their lives to infectious disease around the world; the key to fighting infectious disease is for doctors to determine quickly what kind of pathogen or infectious agents have entered the body and sidestepped the natural immune system
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Infrared Thermal Detection System is a fast, effective fever screening tool during pandemics
In the age of globalization, infectious diseases can rapidly spread worldwide and infect many populations; a technology which would allow healthcare professionals quickly to screen large numbers of patients with speed and accuracy and implement relevant measures to prevent further disease transmission would be very helpful; University of Nebraska researchers offer such a technology
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Beating mosquitoes at their own game
Japanese researchers came up with a brilliant idea: why not use mosquitoes as “flying vaccinators” or “flying syringes”? Normally, when mosquitoes bite, they inject a tiny drop of saliva that prevents the host’s blood from clotting; the Japanese group decided to add an antigen — a compound that triggers an immune response — to the mix of proteins in the insect’s saliva; it worked
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Nuclear Medical Center established for early detection of injuries
The Israeli military uses a new technology which allows early detection of injuries sustained by soldiers better than any other diagnostic tests; the system uses a new nuclear medicine system, which includes a new nuclear camera; the new camera has a sensitivity of 100 percent for diagnosing stress fractures, enabling the diagnosis of an injury already at the stage of a minor fracture and prevents it from worsening
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iPhone app saves lives
A new iPhone app guides users as to what to do when resuscitating critically ill patients in cardiac arrest or near cardiac arrest; depending on the age and condition of the patient, the user follows certain prompts to remind them of what to do
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The political economy of food safety
Everyone wants safer food, but making food safer costs money; experts say that it is the small mom-and-pops that have not kept up with technology and innovation; these “fringe” suppliers and food processors would likely find the cost of tighter food safety plans, inspections, and mandatory recalls too onerous for doing business
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How best to protect first responders from anthrax
The first responders who rushed to Senator Tom Daschle’s office on 15 October 2001 were protected by personal protective equipment (PPE); yet, nasal swabs taken from them after they got out of the building revealed that some had been exposed to anthrax; experts argue that first responders and emergency personnel should all be vaccinated
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Food flavoring widely used in U.S., Canada found to be contaminated with salmonella
Flavoring agent in a wide range of processed foods, including dips, salad dressings, chips, sauces, hotdogs, soups, and frozen dinners, found to be contaminated with salmonella; agent produced by Las Vegas-based Basic Food Flavors; U.S. and Canadian food authorities consider what measures to take, including recalls
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Two New York labs to develop anti-botulism drugs
U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory and Stony Brook University’s Institute of Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery to receive $1.4 million in Department of Defense research funds to develop anti-botulism drugs
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NRC panel has "high confidence" in Fort Detrick BioLab's security procedures
The U.S. Army plans to expand its biocontainment laboratories at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland, to study deadly pathogens; a few incidents at the lab heightened security concerns in the neighboring communities, but National Research Council report finds that current safety procedures and regulations at the labs meet or exceed accepted standard
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More headlines
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.”