Countermeasures
Extreme weather events, a CBRN incident, cyberthreats and infectious diseases having pandemic potential all put Americans on notice for 21st century health security hazards, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) says in its newly developed National Health Security Strategy... Read More »
The Navy has awarded a $184 million firm-fixed-price modification contract to Lockheed Martin for full-rate production of Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block 2 systems.
“We are honored to continue to provide this critical fleet defense capability that our warfighters... Read More »
As a means of assessing new first responder technology solutions, the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is hosting an initiative that evaluates innovations.
S&T officials said the agency had released a Request for Information (RFI) for... Read More »
Scientists at the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have conducted a detailed blood sample analysis of Ebola patients that is shedding light on the roles a molecular pathway and microvesicles play in both the virus and potential treatments.
The study turned... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Defense awarded $3 million to the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) to update terrorism-related datasets that serve intelligence community modeling and simulation efforts.
With this new award -- called Enhancing Datastreams... Read More »
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials said a recently granted waiver ensures construction and replacement of a section of California secondary wall near the international border.
The waiver for the 12.5 miles of coverage stems from authority granted to the Secretary of Homeland... Read More »
With 79 measles cases already confirmed this year, the top Democrat and Republican on the U.S. Senate health committee have dispatched a letter to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), urging them to promote vaccine... Read More »
Oshkosh Defense was awarded a $232.7 million contract from the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) to rebuild and refurbish vehicles in the Army’s Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicles (FHTV) fleet.
Oshkosh will rebuild, or recapitalize, 407 Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical... Read More »
Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), John Cornyn (R-TX) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) recently introduced a measure designed to link the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the National Cybersecurity Preparedness Consortium (NCPC) to combat cybersecurity risks.
The National Cybersecurity Preparedness... Read More »
The Boston University global partnership CARB-X has earmarked up to $4.4 million in non-dilutive funding for the development of a new antibiotic that will target infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria.
CARB-X officials said the funds would be allocated to Recida Therapeutics, based in ... Read More »
Preclinical trials shone for a new synthetic DNA vaccine developed by the Wistar Institute this week when results published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases showed complete protection offered against the mosquito-borne Mayaro virus (MAYV).
"Although MAYV was discovered a long time ago and... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) hosted 13 Houston-area public safety agencies and 20 industry partners at the Port of Houston in December to test first-responder technology integration.
The test also was hosted by the U.S. Coast Guard,... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) have asked the Department of Homeland Security to assess the national security risks stemming from foreign-made Virtual Private Network (VPN).
The senators specifically mention VPN networks affiliated with countries of national security concern,... Read More »
A bipartisan bill recently introduced in the U.S. House would require the installation of secondary cockpit barriers on existing commercial aircraft to prevent terrorist attacks.
The barriers would be lightweight wire-mesh gates installed between the passenger cabin and the cockpit door. The... Read More »
A bill to reform the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 was introduced in the U.S. Senate this week.
The legislation is designed to better align the act with its original intent as a trade remedy tool for the president and Congress to respond to threats to national security. In keeping with the... Read More »
A contract modification will enable Perspecta Labs to continue working with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop cyber defenses against distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks.
The new contract agreement is worth up to $2.7 million and is dependent on the... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently offered an assessment regarding the Army's progression toward rebuilding readiness and implementing transformation goals by 2022.
The GAO said the analysis involved providing information on the Army's progress and challenges in readiness... Read More »
Though strides have been made in the antibiotic pipeline in the last few years, a review released in Clinical Infectious Diseases this week found that they are not enough to combat multidrug resistance.
The report is an update on progress made under the Infectious Diseases Society of America's... Read More »
Several legislators recently announced their support of a Joint Resolution preventing the U.S. withdrawal from NATO without congressional approval.
Reps. Will Hurd (R-TX), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Gerry Connolly (D-VA) said the effort serves effort as companion legislation... Read More »
San Diego Sector (SDC) Border Patrol personnel continued to skillfully execute missions during the recent partial government shutdown, which represented the longest such period in the nation’s history.
Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officials said from Dec. 22, 2018, to Jan. 24, 2019, SDC... Read More »
A University of Kansas geologist recently determined that antibiotic-resistant microbes have spread to the remote arctic soil of Norway and could have severe implications for global human health.
The discovery -- published in the journal Environment International -- found that... Read More »
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently announced two recommendations for how the Air Force can retain aircraft maintenance personnel.
The Air Force’s largest enlisted career field is aircraft maintenance, and there are more than 100,000 active and reserve maintenance... Read More »
(Corrects 6th paragraph to clarify the Global Travel Assessment System was developed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.)
The Department of Homeland Security’s Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP) recently launched the development of three startup technologies to be used by DHS.... Read More »
There’s ample reason to concentrate on the role the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) plays in helping the nation defend against biological attacks, one of the most critical being the protection of America’s military troops, said experts Tuesday during a Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense... Read More »
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) recently introduced legislation designed to enhance border security via funds seized from illegal entities such as drug cartels.
The Securing the Border and Making Drug Cartels Pay for It Act would authorize the issuance of bonds to make billions of dollars available for... Read More »
A group of legislators recently announced their support of the RAIDERS Act, which officials said is designed to prevent presidential use of National Emergencies Act of 1976 funds to build a border wall.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) joined Sens. Kamala Harris (D-CA), Tom Udall (D-NM), Martin... Read More »
A new study, published in Nature Biotechnology, reveals scientists from the Broad Institute have found a way to examine any human virus more efficiently, cost-effectively and on large scales than previously known.
The CATCH method (Compact Aggregation of Targets for Comprehensive Hybridization),... Read More »
North Carolina resident Erick Jamal Hendricks was sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison for attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).
Hendricks was convicted last year of trying to recruit people on social media to train and conduct terrorist... Read More »
A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate this week seeks to create a task force to provide recommendations for a national strategy on threat assessment and management.
The Threat Assessment, Prevention, and Safety (TAPS) Act of 2019 (S. 265) would provide resources, training, and assistance in... Read More »
Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) reintroduced last week a measure designed to prevent cyberattacks on federal agencies and the private sector while also bolstering homeland protection.
The senators said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Cyber Hunt and Incident Response... Read More »
In an effort to raise health care workers’ awareness of and safety around Ebola, the Medical University of South Carolina has launched a new online training program.
The simulation seeks to train health care workers about the potential tolls the disease could take on a population and warns... Read More »
U.S. Border Patrol agents at the San Clemente Station in the San Diego Sector seized more than 140 pounds of narcotics, valued at more than $2.25 million hidden inside a car on Jan. 24.
Agents conducted a vehicle stop on a 2016 Nissan Versa, and the driver consented to a search by a Border... Read More »
The United States is backing out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) with Russia citing Russia’s failure to comply with the treaty.
The INF Treaty was signed in 1987 in the waning days of the former Soviet Union by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General... Read More »
The Department of Defense's (DoD) Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office (CTTSO) has committed nearly $3 million to an effort addressing key terrorism-related datasets and counterterrorism decision making.
The funds are allocated to the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and... Read More »
Recognizing that human trafficking is a crime often hidden from the public eye, the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) announced two new social science, data-driven projects to tackle the crime this week.
“Applying social science-based... Read More »
