Public health

Emergent fights to fill VaxGen's BioShield contract
Company has the only anthrax vaccine around, but it does not meet the federal government’s requirements; on the verge of an IPO, Emergent licenses Coley Pharmaceutical’s adjuvant technology
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Congress considers reorganizing pest inspectors
Inspections are down after CBP absorbed the DOA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service; legislation will reverse the arrangement; pests and disease cause $41 billion in damage each year
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Food producers begin to adopt product tracking systems
Dole and Western Growers install RFID and GPS systems; voluntary regulations take hold throughout California
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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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