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Joint Kentucky-Tennessee bid for biolab fails
Kentucky and Tennnessee had an idea: Why not bid jointly for DHS’s biolab? The scattered nature of the proposed research facilities, however, and lack of workers with experience in high-security doomed the effort
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Private sector can deal with Chinese product safety problems
The list of unsafe and tainted Chinese prodcuts is long and worrisome; Congress is considering protectionist measures in response; WSJ says private sector can deal with the problem
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Bird flu pandemic plans lacking in U.S.
Experts worry that the U.S. public, and managers of companies, have become complacent about the risks of avian flu and its economic reprcussions
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The number of accidental infection at biolabs grows
There are now 20,000 people at 400 sites around the United States working with bioweapons germs; the number of accidental infections grows
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One-fifth of Chinese products are substandard
Chinese government inspectors report that nearly one-fifth of the products they examined — including food products — were substandard.
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Multivalent vaccine botulinum toxin shows promise
Bolulinum toxin is an extremely strong neurotoxin that causes fatal paralysis in its victims; Florida company reports initial success of its multivalent vaccine
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Missouri's cattlemen's group opposes BioDefense lab
Major agricutlrual associations in Missouri split over merit, risks of building national bio- and agro-defense lab in the state
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France, Germany raise bird flu threat level
In Germany, wild birds are found dead in Thuringia, Saxony, and Bavaria; in France, three dead swans found in Moselle; both countries raise bird flu alert levels
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Renewed worries about safety of biodefense research
Critics argue that universities, fearing loss of biodefense research funds, do not report infections, other problems
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CDC suspends A&M research on infectious diseases
In spring 2006, Aggies researchers were infected with Q fever and Brucella, but the school failed to report the cases to CDC; CDC pulls Texas A&M license
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CDC probes A&M bioweapons infections
Researchers’ exposure to weapons agents not reported promptly
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Study: vaccine may protect against Ebola
NIH researchers find that vaccine incorporating a common pediatric respiratory pathogen may be effective against the dreaded Ebola virus
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China embarks on ambitious bioterror protection program
The Chinese government launches a project aiming to develop vaccines and medicines for genes used in bioterrorism and technologies to evaluate genetically modified plants
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UW wins biofuel grant, and is in the running for DHS agro defense lab
University of Wisconsin wins biofuel grant: $125 million will fund center researching ways to convert plant matter into fuel
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Little moth poses a big threat to California's wine-growers
The discovery in the Bay Area of a tiny Australian moth with voracious apetite leads to renewed criticism of DHS’s inspection of cargo for agricultural threats
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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.”