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New fiber-optic light source for food inspection
Princeton Lightwave and OFS Labs team up to improve imaging capabilities of live-scan cameras; fiber grating creates a perfect rectangular beam of light
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Singapore launches nanotechnology educational kits
Aimed at high school students (and interested adults), Nano-Bio Kits feature hands-on experiments and instructional material for teachers
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Ohio scientists criticize traditional airborne pathogens detection systems
Simple membrane filter and the All-Glass Impinger-30 fail to make the grade when comapred to the BioSampler
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Acacia Research wins $689,000 Air Force contract
Specialized influenza sequencing a critical step towards fully-functioning field assays
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PhamAthene signs patent deal for nerve gas treatment
Maryland company firms up its relationship with GTC, a noted seller of goat-produced enzymes
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Advnt announces new biowarfare assay
After success with the BADD Box, company is the latest to jump on the all-in-one bandwagon; rapid assay can detect anthrax, ricin toxin, botulinum toxin, and others; say goodbye to cross-reactivity
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GlaxoSmithKline develops comprehensive avian flu vaccine
A vaccine that proved effective against a Vietnamese strain also works against a different Indonesian one; adjuvant system cited as the critical common factor; DHS expresses $40 million worth of interest
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Schwarzenegger to support voluntary E. coli regulations
Governor opposes a trio of popular bills to impose safety standards on leafy greens, instead supporting industry self-monitoring
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U.S. and Canada disagree on mandatory troop anthrax vaccinations
As American authorities continue to build the domestic stockpile, and as U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq will again be required to accept the vaccine, Canadian authorities demur
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Critics charge that FDA's food monitoring does not pass inspection
In 2006 the FDA conducted just half the inspections it conducted in 2003; the FDA safety tests on U.S.-produced food fell almost 75 percent during the same period; FDA inspection of imported food fell by 25 percent
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Indiana researchers develop real-life tricorder
Star Trek-inspired mass spectrometer weighs less than twenty pounds; analysis can be done on surfaces outside the vacuum chamber; system detects biomarkers and explosives with ease; two Indiana companies rush into the market
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Outside panel approves Sanofi Aventis's bird flu vaccine
FDA likely to accept recommendation despite disappointing trial results; 50 percent immune seen as better than none; stockpiling continues as GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Novartis SA continue developing competing vaccines
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Delaware scientists use iron to remove viruses from water
The target of new EPA regulations, viruses are mainly invulnerable to chlorinization; elemental, non-valent iron destroys 99 percent of E. coli, rotavirus, and others; inexpensive filtration method relies on the byproduct of iron and steel production
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E. coli found to exhibit lefthandedness
Bacteria with flagella move to the left in order to advance through the human body; unusual movement allows E. coli to find crevices in cells and hitch a ride; catheterization infections explained
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Emergency official suspended for asasaulting photographer
Columbia County, New York coordinator George Sharpe earns a thirty-day rest after attempting to destroy images of a pandemic response drill; HSDW demands a more creative punishment
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The long view
Huge Areas May Face Possibly Fatal Heat Waves if Warming Continues
A new assessment warns that if Earth’s average temperature reaches 2 degrees C over the preindustrial average, widespread areas may become too hot during extreme heat events for many people to survive without artificial cooling.