Countermeasures
Researchers from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Pune have identified 150 possible inhibitors within the Nipah virus -- giving them starting points for drugs to target for the currently untreatable disease.
"We conclude that it is highly likely that the proposed inhibitors... Read More »
As a means of enhancing safety and performance, Marine Corps officials said the branch’s Utility Task Vehicles (UTV) are undergoing a series of revisions.
“We bought the vehicle as a [commercial-off-the-shelf] solution, so it’s not going to have everything we want right from the... Read More »
Reps. Will Hurd (R-TX) and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) are touting legislation designed to ensure the intelligence community prioritizes resources to combat Northern Triangle and Mexico drug trafficking, human trafficking, and human smuggling.
The representatives previously introduced the... Read More »
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers have detected 27 firearms at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, breaking 2017’s record.
The most recent weapon was found Tuesday in the carry-on bag of a Sparks, Maryland, resident. The man was carrying a .25... Read More »
Researchers at the University of Queensland have created a technology that will help create safer hybrid viruses at higher volumes for research and diagnostic efforts involving mosquito-borne diseases.
The key to the technology was the Binjari virus. Study researchers exploited the benign... Read More »
Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) introduced legislation Wednesday that would require the U.S. president to certify whether a foreign country is violating a weapons of mass destruction treaty.
The Preventing the Spread of Nuclear Weapons Act says that if these conditions are... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives approved the fiscal year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) – which sets policies for the military and authorizes funding passed.
The bill advanced the House 377 to 48.
“As a conferee on the FY2020 NDAA Conference Committee, I was proud to... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded a contract to BAE Systems to develop cyber tools preventing electronic file vulnerabilities that could potentially lead to cyberattacks.
The development initiative would be part of DARPA's Safe Documents (SafeDocs) program, which... Read More »
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) recently espoused the benefits of legislation designed to protect military bases from extreme weather events by requiring potential disaster preparation and severe environmental condition changes.
The Requiring Every American Defense Installation to Nullify Environmental... Read More »
The Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) issued a report recommending steps to improve the decision-making process for nuclear weapons use.
The President and Nuclear Weapons: Authorities, Limits, and Process specifically looks at the state of domestic and international law related to the use of... Read More »
The Stop TB Partnership launched an update to its plan to end tuberculosis that includes billions in annual funding.
The partnership’s Global Plan to End TB 2018-2022 calls for $2.6 billion per year for the research and development of new tuberculosis (TB) diagnostic tools, new drug regimens,... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives recently voted to advance a bipartisan bill that strengthens the security of inland waters.
Under the Inland Waters Security Review Act, the Department of Homeland Security secretary would be required to conduct an inland waters threat analysis that includes... Read More »
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) are testing a vaccine to protect against serious diarrheal illnesses caused by food and water contaminated with bacteria like E. coli and Shigella.
Drs. Wilbur Chen and Eileen Barry will lead these tests, thanks to $4.5... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives advanced Monday the Emerging Transportation Security Threats Act of 2019 (H.R. 3318).
The bill, introduced by U.S. Rep. John Joyce (R-PA), creates a task force to analyze emerging threats to transportation security. It also requires the Transportation Security... Read More »
Janssen Pharmaceutical and Bavarian Nordic will provide up to 200,000 regimens of its investigational Ebola vaccine to the Republic of Rwanda to support a new immunization program.
The vaccine regimen, which consists of the MVA-BN Filo vaccine from Bavarian Nordic and the Ad26.ZEBOV vaccine... Read More »
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators recently sent a letter to Mark Esper, the secretary of defense, expressing concern over the national security risks posed by U.S. reliance on foreign-manufactured pharmaceutical products.
The letter is in response to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives advanced Monday legislation designed to bolster efforts to detect fentanyl and other synthetic opioids.
The DHS Opioid Detection Resilience Act of 2019, which was passed by a 393-1 margin, requires the Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to... Read More »
The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), the Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD), and the City of San Diego Fire-Rescue Department recently received new S-70i FIREHAWK helicopters built by Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, and United Rotorcraft, a division of Air... Read More »
Per an agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Sanofi Pasteur will gain $226 million to increase its domestic pandemic influenza vaccine production capabilities.
This money will go to the clinical development and manufacturing of an adjuvanted recombinant pandemic... Read More »
A group of Republican congressmen recently urged the U.S. State Department to designate Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs).
“Think about this: a Mexican state that shares a 230-mile border with the U.S. holds the same State Department travel warning as Iran and... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) is calling upon Congress to increase diplomatic and economic pressure on North Korea following statements from North Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations that the country has no plans to denuclearize.
“Today’s announcement confirms North Korea never had... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommends the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) take steps to ensure screening technologies continue to meet requirements after they are installed at airports.
The TSA is responsible for security operations at approximately 440 TSA-regulated... Read More »
The U.S. Army has earmarked a five-year contract worth up to $109 million for FLIR Systems to provide 350 Kobra robots for the Common Robotic System-Heavy (CRS-H) program.
“We are pleased to be selected for the U.S. Army’s CRS-H program and deliver lifesaving robotic technology to our... Read More »
Chemical industry officials said the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) would be at the forefront of establishing guidelines promoting safety and security.
During the recent second edition of the Workshop on Developing Tools for Chemical Safety and Security at Almaty in... Read More »
A joint effort by Duke-NUS Medical School and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has built The Nipah Virus International Conference for experts and health stakeholders to address the threat of Nipah virus collaboratively.
“There are currently no specific drugs or... Read More »
New York State’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services' Office of Counter Terrorism conducted more than 1,000 counterterrorism exercises throughout the state this year.
In these exercises, counterterrorism experts went undercover as customers to assess the ability of businesses... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration launched CURE ID, an online repository that allows the clinical community to report their experiences treating infectious diseases.
CURE ID – which can be accessed via smartphone or other mobile devices – is a platform that enables the crowdsourcing of... Read More »
The First Responder Network Authority Board recently held its year-end meeting and highlighted FirstNet’s progress and its priorities for the future.
FirstNet is a nationwide public safety broadband network with more than 1 million connections by more than 10,000 public safety... Read More »
A bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation last week designed to provide volunteer firefighters and first responders with affordable housing opportunities.
Sens. Pat Roberts (R-KS), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Jon Tester (D-MT) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) said the... Read More »
Sen. Angus King (I-ME) pressed Department of Defense leaders for information on U.S. cyberattack deterrence and efforts against emerging threats during a recent Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.
“Let me focus on a particular issue of deterrence that I’ve been doing a lot of work on,... Read More »
Thanks to a new program approved by the board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, last week, a global emergency stockpile of Ebola vaccines will be funded and opened for use by those in need of outbreak and prevention efforts.
Gavi intends to pump $178 million into the program through 2025, with a... Read More »
The Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) awarded about $376 million in grants to reinforce public safety efforts across the United States.
“Crime and violence hold families, friends, and neighborhoods hostage. They also rip those communities apart,” Principal Deputy... Read More »
A new report by the RAND Corp. found that police crime centers that use technology, like remote cameras and analytic tools, may be able to reduce crime.
RAND researchers found significant reductions in some types of crimes in Chicago, including robberies and burglaries, using these tools and... Read More »
Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) recently espoused the work of the Reagan Institute’s Reagan Task Force, which recently released a report outlining recommendations to strengthen America’s National Security Innovation Base (NSIB).
“The Reagan Task Force’s report is the product of a year’s worth... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel recently met with privacy experts to discuss how the agency implements the Congressional biometric entry-exit mandate.
The meeting is the third session in an ongoing discussion series about CBP measures taken to protect traveler privacy during... Read More »
