Countermeasures
Scientists may have a new means of detecting and helping tailor therapies to meet the Zika virus’s onslaught.
The technology in question utilizes optofluidic chips -- a combination of small biological samples used for detection purposes (microfluidics) and integrated optics, which use lasers... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at Juarez-Lincoln Bridge, between Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, seized $988,550 in unreported currency Friday.
The funds were discovered during a physical examination of a 2010 Nissan Maxima driven by a 20-year-old female U.S. citizen.... Read More »
The U.S. Senate advanced a bill this week that includes several measures to bolster the U.S.-Israel strategic alliance.
The Strengthening America’s Security in the Middle East Act of 2019 (S. 1) would authorize security assistance to Israel over a 10-year period, reauthorize the United... Read More »
FBI agents in Lansing, Mich., arrested and charged three people with conspiracy to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) last week.
A criminal complaint, issued through the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan, alleges that one of the... Read More »
National Institutes of Health (NIH) early-stage clinical trial findings maintain the investigational Ebola treatment mAb114 is safe, well-tolerated, and easy to administer.
Trial results published in The Lancet outlined the manner in which 18 healthy adults received mAb114 as part of a May 2018... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester will lead a bipartisan group of lawmakers tasked with crafting border security legislation following the agreement last Friday to end the 35-day government shutdown temporarily.
President Donald Trump agreed to end the shutdown last Friday for three weeks while negotiations... Read More »
U.S. Rep. French Hill (R-AR) introduced legislation last week designed to provide protections for financial institutions and banks against regulatory agency backlash when cooperating with a federal or state law enforcement agency investigation.
Rep. Hill first introduced the bill -- the... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will be supporting the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to enforce temporary flight restrictions around Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta during Super Bowl Sunday.
The restrictions will be in effect from 3 p.m.... Read More »
A federal interagency working group convened by the White House National Security Council last week released new resources to help first responders prepare for and respond to an emergency incident involving fourth generation agents — also known as chemical warfare agents.
“These resources... Read More »
Medical breakthroughs and advances in public health systems have enabled countries to contain the effects of infectious diseases, but these gains are tempered by insecurities from forces in economics, globalization, and synthetic biology.
That was the takeaway from The Global Risks Report... Read More »
Reps. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Eliot Engel (D-NY) introduced last week the Cyber Diplomacy Act of 2019 (H.R. 739), which they said seeks to globally ensure the Internet is kept open, reliable and secure.
The legislators introduced H.R. 739 to ensure American leadership on the world stage in... Read More »
A group of Sandia National Laboratories researchers, social-behavioral scientists, and computational modelers recently completed a program designed to assess extremist group interactions and behaviors.
The purpose of “Mustang,” a two-year effort, stemmed from the goal of informing U.S. and... Read More »
An investigational Ebola treatment -- mAb114 -- recently passed an early-stage clinical trial without incident, according to a study published in The Lancet.
MaB114 is a monoclonal antibody developed by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Vaccine Research Center... Read More »
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Biological Technologies Office recently launched a program that assists the Department of Defense with enhancing and sustaining military readiness both by changing how troops train, perform and recover.
The Measuring Biological Aptitude (MBA)... Read More »
An expert with the Council on Foreign Relations argued that federal government should shut down as much federal IT infrastructure as possible during the shutdown to avoid security risks.
In a recent blog post, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations Robert Knake contended that the... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued four recommendations to the Army as a means of enhancing the branch's modernization goals.
GAO officials said the recommendations stem from the Army's aim to maintain its technological edge over potential adversaries by investing in near and... Read More »
The Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is partnering with medical isotope producers to enhance nuclear explosion monitoring initiatives.
The collaboration involves monitor installation to lend greater insight regarding emission levels and timing. The endeavor... Read More »
In recent years, India and the nations of Europe have poured a record amount of funding into research and development surrounding neglected diseases, reaching more than $3.5 billion in 2017, according to the annual G-FINDER report.
The G-FINDER report -- a survey of R&D funding for neglected... Read More »
Raytheon Co. will support onboard sensors and ground-control systems used by the U.S. Air Force RQ-4 Global Hawk remotely piloted aircraft fleet as part of a $65 million subcontract from aircraft manufacturer and business partner Northrop Grumman.
Cybersecurity experts from Raytheon... Read More »
The Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) has joined 2018 Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace, an organization designed to improve and secure the cyber environment and its critical infrastructure.
The Paris Call -- launched on Nov. 12, 2018, by French President Emmanuel Macron -- is... Read More »
The NATO Support Act, H.R. 676, advanced the House of Representatives Tuesday, which original co-sponsor Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) said reaffirms Congressional support in the multinational military alliance.
“America’s alliances are a source of strength and security for our country, and among... Read More »
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) officials have unveiled an initiative designed to afford first responders and warfighters an opportunity to test their skill set in subterranean environments.
DARPA officials said in April nine teams will participate in the SubT Integration... Read More »
The possibilities of an experimental tuberculosis (TB) vaccine reached a new stage this month, as researchers at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine Center for Vaccine Development began phase 1 human clinical trials.
The new drug is currently called ID93 and has a unique,... Read More »
The joint U.S.-U.K. Swarm and Search AI Challenge: 2019 Fire Hack challenges research teams to discover ways unmanned aerial systems can be used in search and rescue missions.
The challenge is sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), the United Kingdom Defence Science and... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives advanced a bill this week that would increase international pressure on Syrian President Assad and his backers.
Specifically, the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act (H.R. 31) would impose new sanctions on human rights abusers and encourage negotiations to end... Read More »
The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) has awarded a pair of university consortia grants totaling $50 million as a means of bolstering nuclear security.
NNSA officials said the Georgia Institute of Technology-led Consortium for Enabling Technologies &... Read More »
Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) recently joined their colleagues in introducing a measure designed to emphasize Congressional support for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
The legislators said the NATO Support Act backs the world's longest-standing military... Read More »
The U.S military recently awarded the Bell Boeing Joint Program Office, a subsidiary of Textron, a $143.9 million contract for performance-based logistics and engineering support for the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey platform.
The 11-month base contract has four one-year option periods. Bell Boeing... Read More »
The largest ever training course for the creation and management of dosimetry labs took place under the guidance of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last week, with the goal of promoting international standardization.
Dosimeters are the devices used to detect and measure radiation.... Read More »
A bill introduced in the House would create a new office within the White House to serve as a central coordinator to oversee national security threats posed by technology.
The office – called the Office of Critical Technologies & Security – would be tasked with interagency coordination... Read More »
Despite a requirement for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to justify technology purchases costing more than $30 million at least 30 days before awarding a contract, the TSA did not submit its first justifications until last August, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) made recommendations to the U.S. Department of Defense on how to best implement the National Guard’s counterdrug program.
Since 1989, the DOD has received billions of dollars to fund the National Guard's participation in a counterdrug program focused... Read More »
As an Ebola outbreak continues to affect the Democratic Republic of Congo, leaders from the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee are requesting a situation brief from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In a joint statement issued last week, committee chairman Frank... Read More »
Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) maintains the recent unveiling of the 2019 Missile Defense Review (MDR) is indicative of progress Congress has made with the Trump Administration.
Sullivan, a member of the Armed Services Committee, attended the Department of Defense spearheaded program, which officials... Read More »
Information technology, engineering, and science solutions firm Leidos has landed a $36 million Naval Sea Systems Command contract to develop torpedo countermeasure technologies for submarine defense.
The work will be performed in Washington, Northern Virginia, Ohio, California, and Florida. It... Read More »
