Countermeasures
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel staffing the Office of Field Operations at the Hidalgo and Anzalduas International Bridges foiled a drug smuggling attempt yielding a $1.4 million seizure.
“These were two great interceptions of hard narcotics that our officers were able to detect... Read More »
A U.S. tuberculosis vaccination trial utilizing edible sensor technology has reportedly cured 100 percent of participants, leading researchers to suggest that the technology could be a “game changer” in high-risk countries.
A part of Wirelessly Observed Therapy (WOT), the ingestible sensor... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) recently toured the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station mosquito lab to learn more about research into Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE).
The lab tracks and researches vector-borne diseases, and in 2017, received a five-year, $10 million grant from the... Read More »
The number of Ebola survivors from the ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) topped 1,000, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The survival rate is largely due to an increase in the amount of medical interventions.
“The recent... Read More »
Lawmakers are urging the Department of Defense (DoD) to prevent delaying the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) as a replacement for the Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM).
Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) recently joined a group of legislators in forwarding correspondence to... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) three recommendations regarding security measure implementation and stakeholder involvement in such endeavors.
The GAO report showed that the TSA’s process does not clearly define when or... Read More »
The National Threat Initiative (NTI) worked with hospitals, research universities, and other stakeholders to prepare a report with effective and secure solutions to support Congressional efforts to eliminate cesium-137 from facilities around the United States.
The report -- Preventing a Dirty... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) awarded $199,680 to a firm to address security threats to connected devices.
The award went to Bastille Networks of Atlanta, Ga., for its Internet of Things (IoT) security solution that gives system administrators... Read More »
The United States and the United Kingdom entered into a recent agreement that will allow law enforcement agencies to demand electronic data from tech companies in either country for serious crimes.
The US-UK Bilateral Data Access Agreement would apply to serious crimes, including terrorism,... Read More »
California’s Sonoma Valley Fire and Rescue Authority (SVFRA) recently received $3,382,458 grant funding through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s SAFER program.
Authorities said the allotment would fund 12 Firefighter/Paramedic positions, enabling an increase in staffing levels on... Read More »
FLIR Systems has reached an agreement to acquire Aria Insight’s Intellectual property (IP) and certain operating assets.
Aria, which was previously known as CyPhy Works, Inc., pioneered the development of tethered small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) and developed the Persistent Aerial... Read More »
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) this week named Dr. Thomas File, Jr. as its newest president, along with five new board members.
File intends to lead the organization in a fight against antimicrobial resistance, developing relationships with state and regional infectious... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Energy recently created a new research center to advance the study and development of artificial intelligence (AI).
Scientists from the DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, and the Georgia Institute of Technology will staff the new... Read More »
A U.S. Senate resolution recently recognized October as National Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2019.
This year’s theme is “Own IT. Secure IT. Protect IT.” The goal is to emphasize personal accountability and to take proactive steps to enhance cybersecurity.
Key areas of focus this year... Read More »
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials have appointed Dr. Alfonso Clavijo as director of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF).
The NBAF, which is currently under construction by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is a research and diagnostic facility designed to... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is reminding U.S. citizens that, beginning Oct. 1, 2020, all air travelers must be REAL ID-compliant to fly within the United States.
Travelers must present a REAL ID driver's license, state-issued enhanced driver’s license or other acceptable forms of... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced intentions to enhance collective autonomous systems in a way that will support urban troop offensives, and to that end, are seeking proposals for operational swarm tactics and new technologies to integrate into these swarms.
It is... Read More »
(Corrects paragraph 4 to reflect the location of U.S. Space Command headquarters has not yet been decided.)
Air Force Gen. John Raymond, who was selected in August by President Donald Trump to lead the U.S. Space Command, recently emphasized the need for U.S. superiority in an increasingly... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) awarded the Albert B. Sabin Vaccine Institute Inc. of Washington, D.C., with about $20.5 million to develop vaccines against Marburg virus and Sudan ebolavirus infections.
Both diseases are caused by the same family of viruses... Read More »
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has earmarked funds to aid the development of new technology that could bolster emergency preparedness by producing platelets outside the human body.
If the two-year, $4.9 million agreement between HHS Biomedical Advanced Research and Development... Read More »
Raytheon Rheinmetall Land Systems, a joint venture of Raytheon Company and Rheinmetall Land Systems, selected Monday Textron Systems to produce the chassis the Lynx Infantry Fighting Vehicle.
The joint venture is looking to offer Lynx to meet the Army's requirement for an Optionally Manned... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week approved Bavarian Nordic to market a new, alternative smallpox vaccine known as JYNNEOS.
JYNNEOS is a live, non-replicating vaccine specifically made for adults. It is an alternative to the existing ACAM2000, which though licensed, cannot be... Read More »
Two House subcommittee chairmen recently sent a letter to Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire, requesting information about how the intelligence community (IC) is combatting the growing threat of transnational, white supremacist terrorism.
At a joint subcommittee hearing last... Read More »
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is launching a network of research centers that will work to develop better influenza vaccines.
NIAID – which is part of the National Institutes of Health -- will provide up to $51 million in funding for the initiative, called... Read More »
Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), a mosquito-borne virus, recently led to the deaths of three Michigan residents, and U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) is pressing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for details of their efforts to halt it.
In addition to the three fatalities, EEE... Read More »
The House of Representatives advanced last week four bills designed to support the traveler security screening process and enhance the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) intelligence apparatus.
Officials touted the potential benefits the Trusted Traveler Reconsideration and Restoration Act of... Read More »
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials said the agency recently initiated an effort designed to increase collaboration between America and Honduras regarding combating irregular migration through Central America.
Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin K. McAleenan has signed two... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives advanced last week bipartisan legislation that would create a task force within the Department of Homeland Security.
The Joint Task Force to Combat Opioid Trafficking Act is aimed at preventing foreign fentanyl and other opioids from entering the country. The... Read More »
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) awarded Emergent BioSolutions a $6.3 million research grant for further development of the company’s treatment for opioid addiction.
Specifically, the funding is for the continued development of AP007, Emergent’s sustained-release nalmefene... Read More »
The federal government needs to take a public-health approach for at-risk individuals and strengthen partnerships with civilian researchers to combat the rise of violent far-right terrorism, according to William Braniff, a terrorism expert.
Braniff recently testified to the U.S. Senate Committee... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) awarded a $67 million contract to BioFactura for the advanced development of its Smallpox Biodefense Therapeutic to treat smallpox.
While smallpox was declared eradicated in 1980, the threat of bioterrorism remains. To fill the... Read More »
Vienna, Austria-based Danube Tech GmbH has secured a $143,478 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) contract to develop blockchain security technology.
The award is funded through S&T’s Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP) Other Transaction... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has initiated Simplified Arrival at Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW) as a means of modernizing international arrivals by matching travelers to documents using face comparison technology.
CBP is committed to implementing an integrated biometric... Read More »
Under a $30 million contract with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), three institutions have been selected to create new centers of immunology research to advance tuberculosis (TB) vaccine development.
The three... Read More »
A new report issued by leaders in international health says the world may face great risk from pathogens, including a rapidly moving, highly lethal pandemic projected to kill 50 to 80 million people and wiping out nearly 5 percent of the world’s economy.
High-impact respiratory pathogens, such... Read More »
