Public health

Japanese government survey finds health centers unprepared for bioterror
Many lack trained teams to respond to small pox and anthrax
- Read more
Safe America Foundation to test social distancing as flu response
Effort coordinated with French government, American health authorities; employees of Fortune 100 firms to avoid each other at work, will be monitored by hidden cameras
- Read more

Escape of genetically modified grass and rice upsets industry
Lax regulatory enforcement cited as major problem; USDA often unware of testing programs and location
- Read more
Georgia congressmen press House about agroterrorism
State a leader in biodefense; first state to create a “national curriculum” on agrosecurity
- Read more

Fisher Scientific, trying to merge with Thermo Electron, will sell off product line to satisfy anti-trust concerns
A request for information from the FTC prompts company to consider selling Genevac, a $17 million solvent evaporation and concentration equipment manufacturer
- Read more
New York and San Francisco use fish to monitor drinking water
In airports German Shepherds are used to protect civilians from contaminants, bomb making materials, narcotics, etc.; In two cities, however, fish are doing the detecting by monitoring drinking water
- Read more

Luminex applies medical know-how to war against bioterrorism
Texas company using technology it developed for drug companies and clinical research labs as a basis for developing a trigger sensor which would alert of a bioterror attack
- Read more
Viriginia wildelife organization to develop bioterror surveillance system
Animals in the wild are susceptible to some of the very pathogens which terrorists would use in a bioterror attack; one way, therefore, to detect the onset of such an attack would be to keep a close eye on wildlife for any suspicious occurances
- Read more

TVI announces selection as decontamination system provider for DoD
The contract under the Defense Guardian Installation Protection Program is worth $490,000; company will deploy proprietary fabric shelter structures
- Read more
Sceptor Industries reports excellent results from recent tests of its OMNI 3000 portable air sampler
The Kansas City, Missouri company reports that it achieved collection efficiences as high as 91.8% and managed to process 277 liters of air per minute
- Read more

United States is still vulnerable to bioterror, but is moving in the right direction
Experts agree technology has come a long way; some still, however, believe we are not safe from bioterrorism as new threats continue to arise – one being synthetic bioterror agents
- Read more
U.S. BioDefense gains total control of EDS
U.S. BioDefense expands its services by gaining 100 percent control of EDS; the acquisition works well for EDS as well as the emergency preparedness and disaster recovery industry is expected to spend billions in 2007
- Read more

Nanowire “barcode” system to facilitate detection of bioterrorism agents in the field
Nanotechnolgy has already made many contributions to homeland security, and here is an intriguing one: Researchers in several California research centers join to demonstrate how nanowire barcodes can help in detecting bioterror agents – and epidemic carriers
- Read more
EU to support extended use of RFID in food and drink sector
EU supports research into RFID technology to make it more economical to track food and beverage from field to store shelves and tables
- Read more
Biodefense lab goes public
Cleveland biotechnology lab goes public on Nasdaq
- Read more

More headlines