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USDA evaluates zNose for detecting contraband food products
The current inspection systems for contraband food products has come under criticism; USDA augments inspection by testing zNose
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Kansas State University wants to house high-level biolab
Thde city of Dunn, Wisconsin, is relieved to be taken off the list for future high-security biolabs; the debate in Manhattan Kansas, begins
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Biolab bid loser U Missouri supports Kansas State
University of Missouri-Columbia failed to make the finalists list for the national biolab; it joins a consortium of university and business interests pulling for the lab to be built at Kansas State University
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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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The long view
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.”
A Brief History of Federal Funding for Basic Science
Biomedical science in the United States is at a crossroads. For 75 years, the federal government has partnered with academic institutions, fueling discoveries that have transformed medicine and saved lives. Recent moves by the Trump administration — including funding cuts and proposed changes to how research support is allocated — now threaten this legacy.
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.