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DARPA wants "plant-based production system" to help combat flu
DARPA says that “Recent advances funded by DARPA and others have demonstrated the viability of plant-based protein expression technologies for the production and purification of cGMP-compliant medical countermeasures…”
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Cities need to prepare for a home-made nuke
An explosion of ten kiloton nuclear bomb in a city would be disastrous; as catastrophic as such an attack would be, it would not level an entire city, and a timely response could save many lives
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Humans may infect pigs with swine flu
Researchers find that the strain of influenza, A/H1N1, which is currently pandemic in humans has been shown to be infectious to pigs and to spread rapidly in a trial pig population
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A first: Ebola virus found in pigs in the Philippines
For the first time, Ebola virus has been detected in pigs, raising concerns it could mutate and pose a new risk to humans
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U.S. to vaccinate millions against swine flu
The U.S. federal government will target children this fall for pandemic flu vaccination campaign — the largest since the 1950s polio vaccination effort
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Swine flu advances in southern hemisphere
In the southern hemisphere it is winter, and people there are in the midst of the winter flu season; swine H1N1 virus seems to be replacing the seasonal flu viruses that circulated till now — classic pandemic behavior
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More tests in the U.S. for Tamiflu-resistant swine flu
A third patient has been infected with a Tamiflu-resistant strain of swine flu; U.S. health officials are stepping up testing of swine flu cases for Tamiflu resistance
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New method for combating the flu
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s researchers develop a new tool to combat the flu; the discovery is a one-two punch that targets the illness on two fronts, going one critical step further than any currently available flu drug
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Biohazards to be studied in Memphis
The University of Tennessee at Memphis inaugurates a new Level 3 Biohazard lab to develop new vaccines and antibiotics
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To claim that swine flu has been "contained" is premature
We have not yet reached the “containment” phase of the swine flu epidemics; to say we have is PR, not public health policy
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Swine flu kills by binding to cells deeper in the lungs
Unlike seasonal flu, which binds almost exclusively to cells in the nose, swine flu binds deeper, in the lung’s trachea, bronchi, and bronchioles; the pandemic virus also replicated more, and caused more damage
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Swine flu virus spreads ineffectively from person to person
H1N1 flu virus ill-suited for rapid transmission, but new strain bears watching, could mutate
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Drug-resistant swine flu strain killed with Tamiflu alternative
A Danish patient came down with swine flu, but the strain proved resistant to Tamiflu, which is produced by Roche; doctors used the drug Relenza from rival GlaxoSmithKline to kill the resistant strain
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DARPA wants to stop biothreats before they spread
DARPA is looking to accelerate the response to pathogens, stopping the bugs before they even start; the goal: persistent, universal immunity by speeding up long-term resistance to new and unknown pathogens
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Minnesota company recalls two years of food products
Plainview Milk Products Cooperative is recalling two years of food products — instant non-fat dried milk, whey protein, fruit stabilizers, and gums— due to possible salmonella contamination
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The long view
We Ran the C.D.C.: Kennedy Is Endangering Every American’s Health
Nine former leaders of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), who served as directors or acting directors under Republican and Democratic administrations, serving under presidents from Jimmy Carter to Donald Trrump, argue that HHS Secretary Roert F. Kennedy Jr. poses a clear and present danger to the health of Americans. He has placed anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theorists at top HHS positions, and he appears to be guided by a hostility to science and a belief in bizarre, unscientific approaches to public health.