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CBP and USDA crack down on Canadian lunches
Truckers crossing the border find their salami sandwiches under suspicion; fears of mad caw and other food-borne illness inspire scrutiny; CBP targets those already singled out for further cargo inspection
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E-capsule monitors cow health from the inside
Israeli company Veterix develops an electronic pill that reports on animal temperature, heart rate, and digestive activity; farmers receive wireless diagnostics that permit swift identification of the sick; improved monitoring of livestock health key to preventing ourbreaks of E. coli and other livestock diseases.
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Colorado researcher to test natural mustard gas cure
Milk thistle has shown remarkable ability to prevent skin cancer; $2.7 million contract will explore whether similar mechanism may obtain for mustard gas exposure; researcher hopes to create an ointment to be applied post-attack
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Affinium wins $4.8 DTRA contract to fight tularemia
Company will begin preclinical development using an existing portfolio of fatty biosysnthesis inhibitors; end goal is an oral tularemia therapeutic; effort builds on previous work for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
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SAIC wins $53 million deal to move WMD models on-line
Integrated Weapons of Mass Destruction Toolset has been in development since 2004; moving on-line critical to dispersing data to first responders; physics-based models assess terrain, wind patterns, and other factors
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Low morale plagues DHS agriculture workers
Merger into Customs and Border Protection a major source of problems; agriculturalists see mission overshadowed by other CBP priorities; DHS says problems were expected
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AWWA and ASCE publish draft water safety regulations
Third phase of voluntary standards covers physical security at water and wastewater industries; grant program funded by EPA; interested parties have until June to comment
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Michigan professor offers polymerase assay for fifty pathogens
Portable, polymerase-based, hand-held device relies on a DNA biochip; flexibility a major selling point; field testing to be done by university spin-off AquaBioChip
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Multiple approaches needed to fight E. Coli, say Illinois scientists
No single approach consistently meets FDA requirements; combining technologies ensures swift pathogen death; ultrasound, electrolyzed water, and irradiation among studied methods
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Battelle wins $500 million contract to manage new Ft. Detrick lab
National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center currently under construction; company receives base contract award of $250 million over five years, plus options; Battelle a major player in the lab management game
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HHS cancels Vaxgen's anthrax contract
$877 million project a near total loss; VaxGen claims to be well-capitalized to weather the storm; with an IPO coming, Emergent looks better than ever
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Dayton positions itself as a sensor center
Ohio’s Third Frontier Commission awards $28 million for the development of a sensor technology research center; business partners include Woolpert, General Dynamics, UES, YSI, and L-3 Communications Cincinnati Electronics
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PAR and Carrier agree on truck monitoring terms
PAR expands its North American presence with a deal to link-up with Carrier’s refrigerated trucks
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Vortex takes its water purification business across the pond
Norway-based Cool Chili buys the exclusive rights to Vortex’s patented UltraviOzone technology; system catalyzes ozone with ultraviolet light before infusing the water with pure oxygen; DHS funds the technology hoping to develop improved water safety regimes
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Researchers find microinjection efficient at delivering anthrax vaccine
Compared with intramuscular delivery, microneedles are just as effective but require less vaccine; results an important step forward in developing and maintaining a working stockpile
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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.