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Taiwanese researchers use lasers to weigh viruses
Method could improve identification of deadly pathogens; scientists use ion trap to bombard virus particles with laser light; a chip measures resultant oscillation to determine mass; technique limited to 50 nanometers or larger
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Green onion contamination fuels cry for industry regulation
Complaining that federal oversight is lacking, supermarkets hire their own inspectors and demand growers shape up; in response, growers suggest a marketing order would be appropriate until new rules are drafted
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Synergetics to support Animal Health and Surveillance Management
Coloradan IT company wins a multi-year contract with USDA to “beef” up its livestock health monitoring system; software to undergo vigorous testing and overhaul; new forms for disease reporting
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Aethlon Medical moves forward with Hemopurifier
System removes viral pathogens such as Marburg and smallpox from human circulation; company requests an investigational device exemption under Project BioShield; dengue-related tests to begin in India
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CDC awards $11.4 million in contracts for avian flu diagnostics
Agency hopes for a rapid bedside test that can be used by untrained personnel; winners are Cepheid, IQuum, Meso Scale Diagnostics, and Nanogen; more money forthcoming for successful companies
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Interpol proposes model anti-bioterror law
Agency hopes to encourage states to criminalize the development and transfer of deadly pathogens; many countries limit prosecution to actual use; investigatory restrictions a major problem for some
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GreeneChip offers rapid diagnosis of 30,000 pathogens
Unlike systems that can only test blood samples, new technology can assay tissue, urine, and stool; from Marburg to urinary tract infections, Columbia University’s GreeneChip offers a fast and inexpensive testing regime
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Llama blood to assist in detecting pathogens
Breakthrough effort at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research manipulates antibodies that can survive high temperatures; single-chain molecules do not fold under heat; Marburg and ebola assays first on the agenda
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UK asks scientists to serve as bioterror barometers
After a Guardian reporter buys smallpox DNA on-line, the British government asks the Royal Society and other scientific bodies to keep a close look-out for emerging threats
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Colorado researchers produce a better chemical warfare suit
Conventional butyl rubber is blended with polymerizable liquid crystal; water transfer rates and permeability substantially improved, allowing for lighter and safer suits; other applications include filters for brine and contaminated water
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Longwatch to participate in WaterSentinel
Company will install remote video alarm monitoring services; WaterSentinel a major push to secure nation’s water supplies; integration with SCADA protocol a major factor in winning such projects; company looks for installation and integration partners
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Nations review the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention
Sponored by the Green Cross, meeting in Geneva takes on biowarfare and natural disease outbreaks; concerns linger over nonsignatories; biotech seen as key line of defense
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Hackensack to deploy three in one mobile medical response unit
Federal funding of $3.2 million makes this unique approach possible; FEMA’s Carolina Med1 unit seen as too large for Hackensack’s streets; a trauma unit, surgery bay, and lab can operate seperately or as a aingle unit
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Canada Foundation for Innovation awards homeland security grants
Research into protecting infrastructure and developing new energy sources receive special attention; hundreds of million of Canadian dollars awarded for a wide range of scientific endeavors; Universities of Toronto and Calgary among winners
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New "gene chip" quickly and inexpensively identifies bird flu
Unlike previous diagnostics, technology developed by researchers at the University of Colorado and the CDC relies on a single isolated virus gene; matric gene a target because it evolves extremely slowly, meaning that test can last a while without being tweaked; researchers currently looking to bring test to market
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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.”