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Self-powered biosensor sniffs out danger
University of Glasgow students win prestigious competition with a device which can sniff out pollution and then generate its own electricity to set off an early-warning system
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"Scrambled" polymers kill drug-resistant bacteria
Researchers make molecules that mimic the short proteins known as host-defense peptides; they kill bacteria, and work by sticking onto bacteria’s membranes and opening holes in them
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Prescription for trouble: China about to dominate global drug market
China dominates the production of antibiotics, and Chinese companies have captured a major share of the global sales of many vitamins, antibiotics, enzymes, and painkillers; this is not good for U.S. national security (China now controls key ingredients of Cipro and doxycycline); this is not good for U.S. consumers (China’s drug manufacturing is characterized by lax standards, little by way of enforcement, and corruption)
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Universal Detection fulfills U.K. order for anthrax detection systems
California company ships BSM-2000 anthrax detection systems to London; order includes point detection kits which are capable of detecting anthrax, ricin toxin, botulinum toxin, plague, and SEBs
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New U.S.-China trade agreement calls for tighter product safety measures
In 2007, $2 trillion worth of goods will be delivered into the U.S. by more than 825,000 importers; experts say the amount of imported goods will triple by 2015; next week the U.S. and China will sign trade agreements aiming to ensure enhanced safety of imported food, drugs, and devices; critics say these agreements do not go far enough
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Review criticizes safety analysis of proposed Boston bioterror lab
The National Research Council says that a federal study of a proposed Boston University bioterrorism lab failed to consider fully the dangers of the possible release of deadly viruses and bacteria into the surrounding neighborhood
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Living cells as bioterror detectors
Terrapin researcher has an idea for bioterror attack detection: Use cells that die when exposed to a particular pathogen, thus providing the early warning; the cells are also engineered to produce a signal, such as fluorescence, when attacked
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Foot-and-mouth disease could cost Kansas nearly a billion dollars
Researchers say that the losses for the Kansas economy from a large-scale foot-and-mouth outbreak could reach a billion dollars
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Laser diodes with world's shortest wavelength for bioterror detection
Currently, the shortest laser diode reported measures 343nm — which is problematic: Most biological molecules show strong absorption in the ultraviolet spectral region ranging from 280nm to 340nm; researchers at Bristol and Sheffield universities fabricate the first 337nm laser diode — allowing for continuous monitoring of biological molecules; technology will also increase capacity for information storage
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Hygiena launches hand-held device for contaminant detection
A New Jersey food processor just went belly up as a result of having to launch the second largest recall of contaminated beef in U.S. history; a California company says that if its hand-held contamination monitor were used, the contaminant would have been found earlier, reducing the size of the recall and the subsequent financial hit
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Company at center of large tainted beef recall closes doors
Topps Meat was forced to recall 21.7 million pounds of ground beef — the second largest recall in U.S. history — after its products sickened about forty people in eight states; company now files for bankruptcy
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Computer model depicts the spread of disease
Researchers at Southampton University develop a computer model to simulate the transmission of infectious diseases between people
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U.K. employers not prepared for flu calamity
Fewer than a quarter of U.K. companies have made adequate plans for coping with a flu pandemic; 30 percent of businesses have no strategy at all, while 14 percent have but rudimentary continuity plans
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ECBC recognized for contribution of chemical, biological standoff detection
Edgewood Chemical Biological Center’s research and development of standoff biological and chemical detectors is recognized by the U.S. Army
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Dorit Arad, MND, and the business of diagnostic tests for viral pandemics
Israeli scientist combines scientific brilliance, business savvy to design breakthrough diagnostic kits for viral pandemics; globally, the diagnostic market is estimated at $40 billion annually
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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.”