Countermeasures
A study conducted by New York University confirmed that text messages are a rapid means of information spread amidst public health crises, representing an invaluable means of data sourcing.
"Sourcing data from individuals directly, such as through mobile phones, has the potential to provide... Read More »
Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) announced this week that it would take part in an experimental treatment for the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) currently being pursued by international cooperation.
Their involvement focuses on ZMapp, a treatment that utilizes three antibodies as part of its... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) facial recognition technology identified its third impostor at Washington Dulles International Airport in 40 days Monday.
The technology reported a mismatch between the photo embedded in a passport chip and a woman who presented a U.S. passport of a... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is researching the detection and prevention of homemade explosives at various labs and test facilities across the country.
DHS reports that there are approximately 3,000 improvised explosive device (IED) incidents in... Read More »
The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) recently named Edward Parkinson acting CEO of FirstNet Authority.
Parkinson was a staff member on the House Homeland Security Committee... Read More »
Texas A&M University was selected to lead a consortium of U.S. academic institutions, among others, for a new Center of Excellence (COE) for Cross-Border Threat Screening and Supply Chain Defense (CBTS).
The project will be funded by a $3.85 million grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Human and Human Services (DHHS) has contracted with the company Genentech in managing and sharing the cost to develop a portfolio of medical treatments designed to counter the spread of influenza and other health security threats.
DHHS, operating through its Biomedical... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) selected BAE Systems this week for a new research and development contract to address current and future technology needs among the military.
In so doing, DOD has also put Bae Systems in the running for future contract task orders -- one of 15 companies to... Read More »
Earthquake preparedness in the United States stands to benefit from the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Reauthorization Act, a bill recently advanced by the Senate that would aid preparation and protection efforts through infrastructure improvements and risk assessments.
The... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is sponsoring Siga Technologies on its development of an intravenous formulation of TPOXX -- a smallpox antiviral medication of which DHHS is currently purchasing additional doses.
“We want to save as many lives as possible after a... Read More »
The Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act and Continuing Appropriations Act will provide funding for the Department of Defense (DOD) for fiscal year 2019.
The act, which became law Friday, provides $686 billion for the DOD and $30 billion for the Department of... Read More »
The Justice Department’s Criminal Division held a roundtable discussion last week on challenges related to cybersecurity and data breach investigations.
The goal of the roundtable was to work with the private sector on how to improve cooperation with law enforcement and better prosecute and... Read More »
Boeing has secured a $9.2 billion Air Force contract to produce T-X aircraft, which officials said would replace the Air Education and Training Command's 57-year-old fleet of T-38C Talons.
The agreement calls for Boeing to deliver 351 T-X aircraft, 46 simulators and associated ground equipment,... Read More »
Two institutions are taking up the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) call for more affordable, improved and adapted antibiotic formulations for children in low and middle-income countries, with an agreement focused on enhancing generic antibiotics and access.
The participants are the... Read More »
Whether for search and rescue or warfare operations, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced last week their efforts to advance current understanding of underground environments, and the formation of a competition of nine teams to do so.
The recently selected teams... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Nogales Port Director Michael Humphries was recently sworn into office during a formal ceremony held at the Mariposa crossing in Arizona.
Humphries will ensure customs and agriculture inspections are in-line with U.S. laws and regulations and will... Read More »
A bill that promotes the use of dogs to detect explosives was included in the Federal Aviation Administration’s Reauthorization that passed in the U.S. House of Representatives last week.
The legislation, called the Domestic Explosive Detection Canine Capacity Building Act (H.R. 4577), ensures... Read More »
In 2015 it was discovered that a U.S. laboratory spent more than a decade inadvertently sending the bacteria that causes anthrax to 194 laboratories worldwide.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has recently released its findings regarding how effective the U.S. Department of Defense has... Read More »
Rockwell Collins’ military ground radio achieved a major milestone recently as the National Security Agency (NSA) issued the company’s device a Type-1 certification.
Officials said certification for the AN/PRC-162(V)1 RT-2048(C)U validates that the radio provides protected handling of... Read More »
A recently released Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) report suggests nuclear weapons and related systems are increasingly vulnerable to cyberattacks and implores nuclear-armed states to take measures to prevent attacks.
“Nuclear Weapons in the New CyberAge: A Report of the Cyber-Nuclear Weapons... Read More »
The United Nations set forth a goal of eliminating a global tuberculosis epidemic by 2030, as well as to treat 40 million people infected by the disease by 2022 and push forward infection prevention measures in the same timeframe.
A meeting held by the body’s General Assembly this week marked... Read More »
During a 10-day enforcement operation this month, officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) reported the arrest of 98 criminal aliens and immigration violators in North Texas and Oklahoma.
Sixty-seven of those arrested had criminal... Read More »
The U.S. House advanced bipartisan resolution H.R. 302 Thursday that reauthorizes the Federal Aviation Administration for five years while also reauthorizing the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for three years.
“Better protecting Americans requires a holistic approach to security... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives advanced this week legislation to improve safety, scheduling, and compensation for Border Patrol agents.
The Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform Amendment Act of 2018, sponsored by Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX), addresses pay and scheduling issues that have impeded the... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) introduced new technology designed to protect first responders at incident scenes by alerting them to potentially hazardous motorists.
The Automated Driver and Responder Alert System (ADRAS) has two main components... Read More »
Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) recently introduced the Law Enforcement Resources and Community Safety Act of 2018, which addresses state and local problems associated with drug trafficking, gangs and organized crime, strengthen witness protection programs, and provide resources to keep first responders safe... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives advanced four bills this week designed to protect the country from external threats and foreign adversaries.
The four different measures include the Public-Private Cybersecurity Cooperation Act, introduced by Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA); Border Tunnel Task Force... Read More »
The United States announced during the United Nations General Assembly in New York Tuesday the AMR Challenge, the “most ambitious global initiative” for combating antibiotic resistance (AMR).
Led by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and Centers for Disease Control and... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) unveiled a new partnership with SeLux Diagnostic, Inc. this week with the goal of developing faster tests for bacterial infection identification and matching those individual infections with appropriate antibiotics.
The Biomedical Advanced... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday advanced bipartisan legislation sponsored by U.S. Rep. Susan Brooks (R-IN) to bolster America’s preparedness and response to public health emergencies, including biological threats like emerging infectious diseases, as well as chemical, bio or nuclear... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is teaming up with Israeli company MediWound Ltd. in the creation of a new treatment of skin injuries resulting from exposure to sulfur mustard.
Sulfur mustard, more commonly known as mustard gas, has seen devastating use since World War I,... Read More »
In a move the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the HIV Medicine Association warn could threaten public health responses, the Trump Administration has transferred funds from infectious disease prevention, care, and biomedical research programs into its unaccompanied alien children... Read More »
Pennsylvania’s Allegheny, Beaver, and Washington counties were designated this week as part of the Office of National Drug Control Policy’s (ONDCP) High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program.
Congress created HIDTA under the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. It was designed to assist... Read More »
The U.S. Air Force awarded Boeing a $2.38 billion contract for replacement helicopters.
The original cost estimate for the program was about $4.1 billion. Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson said that the $1.7 billion in savings was due to strong competition.
The first helicopter... Read More »
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has recommended that the Department of Homeland Security’s Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office develop a plan to help DHS coordinate chemical defense programs and activities.
The GAO’s study came about in response to concerns about... Read More »
