• Targeted Interventions: Containing Pandemics, Minimizing Societal Disruption

    COVID has so far infected 21 million people, with more than 4.5 of them dying. Nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), such as case isolation, quarantining contacts, and the complete lockdown of entire countries, often come at the expense of economic disruption, harm to social and mental well-being, and require costly administration costs to ensure compliance.

  • Misinformation on Stem Cell Treatments for COVID-19 Linked to Overhyped Science: Researchers

    Researchers call for stronger regulations to deter the sale of unproven cell-based products, and more responsible and accurate science communication.

  • Nuclear War's Smoke Would Cause Climate Change, Threatening Global Food Supplies

    Nuclear war would cause many immediate fatalities, but smoke and soot from the resulting fires would also cause climate change lasting up to fifteen years, threatening worldwide food production and human health, according to a new study.

  • Helping Keep Communities Safe from Chemical Hazards During Severe Weather

    The destruction wrought by extreme weather is often spectacular in its devastation, but the quiet threat of subsequent chemical release can be just as deadly. Damage to infrastructure can lead to toxic substances like chlorine or ammonia contaminating our air and water.

  • Rush to Stop “Havana Syndrome”

    In 2016, dozens of diplomatic staff at the U.S. and Canadian embassies in Havana began experiencing a sudden onset of health troubles with no apparent cause. It was suspected they had been exposed to a high-intensity burst of energy or sound waves. Known as Havana syndrome, today there are at least 200 CIA, State Department, and Pentagon personnel stationed overseas who have been affected. But cause, suspects unclear as scores of U.S. spies, diplomats, security staff hit by mysterious neurological injuries overseas.

  • DEA, DOJ Warn of Lethal Fake Medication Pushed by Mexican Criminal Gangs

    Mexican criminal drug networks are mass-producing illicit fentanyl and fentanyl-laced fake pills using chemicals sourced largely from China., and are distributing these pills through U.S. criminal networks. These addictive fake pills are more lethal than ever. DEA laboratory testing reveals that today, four out of 10 fentanyl-laced fake pills contain a potentially lethal dose. DEA seizes 1.8 million fake pills and arrests 810 people nationwide in two-month effort to dismantle the drug distribution networks.

  • Can Better Gun Safety Practices Lower Teen Suicide Rates?

    Forty percent of the teenagers committing suicide used guns. A new study showed that teens who die by suicide using guns may show fewer warning signs like mental health issues than teens who die by suicide using other methods. Gun availability could contribute to this, as gun-owning parents loosen safety practices as children grow up.

  • Mandates Give Rise to Booming Black Market for Fake Vaccine Cards

    As more organizations demand proof of inoculation against COVID-19, the black market for fake vaccine cards appears to be booming. Legal experts compare phony vaccine cards to counterfeit money or fake drivers’ licenses.

  • Study of Wildfires Reveals Increase in Mortality Rate

    A new study comprehensively links short term exposure to wildfire-related fine particulate matters (PM2.5) in the air and all-cause, respiratory and cardiovascular mortalities across cities and regions around the globe.

  • River Backwaters and High Water Quality Standards

    Clean drinking water is essential. Scientists are investigating how water quality in riverine floodplains, often used as drinking water resources, changes as a result of heavy rainfall and flooding.

  • 9/11: Twenty Years Later, Responders Still Paying a Heavy Price

    More than 91,000 responders were exposed to a range of hazards during recovery and clean-up operations, with 80,785 enrolling in the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP) set up after the attacks. 3,439 are now dead – far more than the 412 who died on the day of the attacks – and many of those alive have been suffering from a series of ailments related to the work at the Twin Towers site.

  • Keeping First Responders Safe by Detecting Cyanide Poisoning after Fires

    When first responders rush to a burning building to subdue the fire and save lives, it is not just the flames that are dangerous and potentially lethal, but also toxic fumes like cyanide that are released when certain materials are incinerated. These fumes, mixed with smoke, are so toxic that even in very low quantities may pose more risk than the fire itself. Chemists at DHS S&T have invented a test to indicate possible toxic cyanide exposure at the fire scene.

  • Future Solutions for Spent Nuclear Fuel

    Nuclear technology has been used in the United States for decades for national defense, research and development, and carbon-free electric power generation. Nuclear power is a key element of the U.S. response to climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, nuclear energy, as an essential form of electricity production, generates radioactive waste in the form of spent nuclear fuel. Spent nuclear fuel must be handled, stored, and ultimately disposed of in a manner that won’t harm the environment.

  • RadSecure 100 Radiological Security Initiative Launched in 100 U.S. Cities

    The RadSecure 100 Initiative focuses on removing radioactive material from facilities where feasible and improving security at the remaining facilities located in 100 metropolitan areas throughout the United States. Partnerships with local medical facilities, industrial firms, and law enforcement will be key to the project.

  • Mitigating Hazards with Vulnerability in Mind

    From tropical storms to landslides, the form and frequency of natural hazards vary widely. To mitigate natural hazards equitably, an MIT Ph.D. candidate is incorporating social vulnerability into resilience engineering and hazard recovery.