Countermeasures
As various bacteria continue to evolve and resist current vaccine treatments, West Virginia University (WVU) researcher Mariette Barbier is working to preserve vaccine effectiveness against pertussis or whooping cough.
Her efforts have been awarded $2.6 million from the National Institutes of... Read More »
The National Science Foundation recently awarded the University of Rochester a $1.5 million grant quantum computing research.
Researchers will use the funding to investigate the challenges of working with and stabilizing quantum particles, called qubits. The university also will use the funds to... Read More »
The First Responder Network Authority passed an $82 million budget for Fiscal Year 2020, which includes funding for future investments in the nationwide public safety broadband network.
“The FirstNet Authority is an organization solely focused on public safety’s critical communications needs... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) released a draft of a bill Wednesday that would make domestic terrorism a federal crime.
Domestic terrorism is defined in the criminal code but is not a distinct federal crime with specific punishments. This makes it more challenging to track domestic terror acts,... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved drug treatment for resistant tuberculosis (TB) of the lungs.
The FDA approved Pretomanid Tablets in combination with bedaquiline and linezolid for the treatment of a specific type of tuberculosis of the lungs, specifically drug-resistant,... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY) is asking U.S. Attorney General William Barr to investigate federal criminal and hate crime charges people who doused police officers with buckets of water.
In July, police officers in New York City were drenched with buckets of water and one officer was hit on the head... Read More »
A recently published The Lancet Infectious Diseases article detailed the identification of new markers aiding the effort to expedite the timeframe of Yellow Fever detection.
“Many patients admitted to the health services with a diagnosis of yellow fever aren't initially severely ill,” Esper... Read More »
North Dakota officials are touting the benefits of a new, $32 million Army National Guard Readiness Center, which will house, support and train guard personnel.
“The North Dakota National Guard is always ready, always there,” Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND), a member of the Senate Defense... Read More »
Scientists at the UNC School of Medicine have discovered that certain molecules can boost the efficacy of antibiotics in fighting Staph infections and powering through antibiotic resistance.
The molecules are known as rhamnolipids, and their targets are staphylococcus aureus bacteria --... Read More »
The FirstNet communications platform has surpassed 750,000 connections and serves nearly 9,000 public safety agencies and organizations.
The platform, built by the First Responder Network Authority and AT&T, is used exclusively by first responders to communicate critical information and... Read More »
Lockheed Martin has developed a tool that standardizes how to measure the cyber resiliency maturity of a weapon, mission, or training system anywhere in its lifecycle.
Lockheed Martin’s Cyber Resiliency Level (CRL) model provides increased visibility into the current state of risk. It produces... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection will implement Mobile Passport Control (MPC) in Puerto Rico.
That means that U.S. citizens and Canadian visitors will have the option to use MPC processing, which expedites the entry process to the United States by using a mobile app to submit users’ passport... Read More »
Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) study findings revealed the RTS,S malaria vaccine could bolster protective antibodies production upon subsequent parasite infection.
The work involved the authors investigating how vaccination impacts natural immunity to the parasite upon... Read More »
National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has earmarked $600 million for its first exascale supercomputer, which will perform research to maintain the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile.
The NNSA, housed under the Department of Energy, has signed an agreement with Cray Inc. to build El... Read More »
The Strategies to Address Antibiotic Resistance (STAAR) Act was reintroduced to the Senate this week, raising the issue of what to do in the face of growing antibiotic resistance.
The legislation was introduced by U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) in an attempt to increase data collection,... Read More »
Smallpox, eradicated globally in 1980, is on the cusp of a comeback thanks to advances in synthetic biology. Residual immunity in individuals who were previously vaccinated could mitigate the impact of a smallpox outbreak, but “a high degree of uncertainty” exists regarding the duration and... Read More »
A Colorado State University (CSU) study maintains the advent of Rift Valley fever in the state would deliver significant consequences for humans and livestock.
The virus is a global health concern caused by infected mosquitos and the handling of infected animal carcasses. Every 10 to 15 years,... Read More »
Biotechnology firm Public Health Vaccines, LLC has secured a Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) contract of up to $43.6 million to develop a single-dose Nipah virus vaccine.
Public Health Vaccine is slated to partner with Crozet BioPharma during the initiative while up to $9... Read More »
In a study published in the International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents, a scientific team reported that continued resistance to two critical antibiotic types that are still widely distributed in Southeast Asia is raising the risk of untreatable infections.
Carbapenems and polymyxins are being... Read More »
Legislation introduced Monday would provide evidence-based solutions to gun violence nationwide.
The Gun Safety Board and Research Act establishes a board responsible for conducting research aimed at reducing gun violence and evaluating federal and state policy proposals to identify gaps in gun... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) developed a corrective action plan on contracting practices in the DoD’s Office of Net Assessment.
The plan was developed at the request of Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who sent a letter to then-Acting Secretary Mark Esper in July seeking more information on... Read More »
Acting Deputy Secretary David P. Pekoske and Attorney General William P. Barr recently participated in the Five Country Ministerial in London, England, to address emerging global security threats.
Pekoske and Barr joined Home Affairs, Interior Security and Immigration Ministers of the Five Eyes... Read More »
Hazard preparedness in Maryland will benefit from $23.8 million in federal grants recently announced by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
The funds will be broken up into seven specific targets. The State Homeland Security Program, Urban Area Security Initiative, Emergency... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Commerce recently awarded more than $109 million in grants through the 911 Grant Program to 34 states and two tribal nations.
Funding will be used to upgrade 911 call centers to Next Generation 911 capabilities. Upgrades include... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), chairman of House Homeland Security Committee, met with Acting DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan this week to discuss the threat of domestic terrorism following recent shootings in Gilroy, Calif., El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.
The Aug. 13 meeting took place in... Read More »
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel recently located and tracked a cocaine-filled go-fast style vessel in the Western Caribbean, resulting in a 8,791 pound, $114.6 million seizure.
Officials said a CBP Air and Marine Operations (AMO) P-3 Orion Long Range Tracker crew assigned to the... Read More »
A new study published in the journal iScience reveals that the already Food and Drug Administration-approved drug nitazoxanide may hold promise as an Ebola treatment.
Nitazoxanide, or NTZ, is not traditionally used for Ebola treatment. Rather, it is a treatment for gastrointestinal infections... Read More »
U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee leaders have written to the U.S. Comptroller General requesting that the Government Accountability Office examine the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) new biodetection technology system known as BioDetection 21.
The BioDetection 21 pilot program... Read More »
Apprehensions along the U.S. Southwest border declined 20 percent in July, the second consecutive month of decreases, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan announced on Aug. 8.
The reductions are attributed mainly to an agreement with Mexico that was signed in June intended to... Read More »
The U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center's Global Positioning Systems Directorate has given Raytheon's new GPS modules and receivers security certification, the company said on Wednesday.
The modernized modules and receivers will provide military aircraft, ships, ground vehicles and... Read More »
BAE Systems on Thursday said it was awarded a prime contractor position with the U.S. Navy as a means of bolstering maritime operations and flight safety systems aboard new aircraft carriers and large deck amphibious ships.
BAE Systems was one of three contractors presented the opportunity to... Read More »
A group of Republican senators led by U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) sent a letter on Aug. 6 to U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, asserting their support for the continued expansion of the F-35 joint strike fighter program.
“Since its inception over 25 years ago, the F-35 program has depended... Read More »
The Florida Department of Health (DOH) in Miami-Dade County has issued mosquito advisories this week after confirmation of a locally acquired case of dengue virus in the region.
As the DOH-Miami-Dade, Miami-Dade County Mosquito Control and Habitat Management Division continues surveillance and... Read More »
Lockheed Martin has secured a $320 million Missile Defense Agency contract to continue the Ballistic Missile Defense System’s (BMDS) progression.
The effort would focus on the Command, Control, Battle Management and Communications (C2BMC) system.
“The critical mission of missile defense... Read More »
Four democratic legislators are calling on their colleagues to pass their bill banning high-capacity gun magazines holding more than 10 rounds.
Reps. Diana DeGette (D-CO), Ted Deutch (D-FL), and Dina Titus (D-NV) and Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) are urging passage of the Keep Americans Safe Act,... Read More »
