Countermeasures
A five-year, $171 million contract was recently awarded to Emergent BioSolutions by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to supply the company’s Reactive Skin Decontamination Lotion kit (RSDL), which protects human skin from chemical warfare agents and the T-2 toxin, for use by all branches of... Read More »
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), in tandem with the Institute for Nuclear Physics (INP) of Almaty, Kazakhstan recently announced that the last remaining stores of highly-enriched uranium (HEU) have been repatriated from the institute’s VVR-K reactor.
In total, more than... Read More »
Experts from the Oregon State University, the Oregon Health and Science University’s College of Pharmacy and the Oregon Health Authority say that communication breakdowns are among the leading potentials for infection outbreaks of drug-resistant bacteria.
Supported by a slew of organizations,... Read More »
Lockheed Martin’s prototype laser weapon system recently demonstrated its ability to deliver decisive lethality against unmanned aerial threats through a series of tests with the U.S. Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command.
The 30-kilowatt Advanced Test High Energy Asset (ATHENA) system... Read More »
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) recently awarded a total of $11.5 million to a team of researchers from the Texas Biomedical Research Institute, the University of Notre Dame and the Center for Infectious Disease Research (CIDR) to examine how the gene of the... Read More »
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott recently announced that the state would partner with FirstNet and AT&T to establish a wireless broadband network, including modernized devices, apps, and tools, to enhance communication between the state’s first responders.
"The safety and security of Texas... Read More »
Two genes called Fut9 and SLc35c1, which regulate the metabolism of a particular sugar in cells, are responsible for making ricin so lethal to humans, according to a recently conducted study by researchers from the Austrian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA).
The... Read More »
The U.S. Senate approved this week a reform package aimed at making government IT spending more efficient and accelerating the government’s transition to modern technology.
The Modernizing Government Technology (MGT) Act creates an incentive for the federal government to streamline IT systems... Read More »
Monaco, Syria and Bolivia, three Member States to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), recently filed legal documents related to nuclear material protection, nuclear safety, spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste management at a meeting of the IAEA General Conference.
Specifically,... Read More »
Animals such as tayra, new world monkeys, sloths, porcupines, and coatis may be incubators for a parasite that causes Chagas disease, according to a recent study conducted by researchers from the University of California-Riverside (UCR).
Despite affecting approximately 8 million people... Read More »
A new public-private partnership between the federal government and Janssen Research & Development LLC seeks to jointly innovate new products in the constantly evolving battle against influenza.
The partnership will see the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant... Read More »
Battelle introduced a new version of its DroneDefender device, which is used to counter threats from Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), at Air Force Association’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference’s Technology Symposium this week.
The DroneDefender V2, a handheld and man-portable device, disrupts... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in conjunction with the U.S. State Department, recently implemented visa sanctions on Cambodia, Eritrea, Guinea and Sierra Leone in response to an overall lack of cooperation in accepting their nationals that have been removed from the United States.... Read More »
Fourteen confirmed cases of chikungunya virus have recently been diagnosed in Italy, six of which appeared in Rome with another eight appearing in the coastal region of Anzio, according to a recently published report from the World Health Organization (WHO).
The first case was identified on... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions said on Monday it has been awarded a contract valued at approximately $63 million by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) for the development of the first antidote spray device for treatment of acute cyanide poisoning.
The single-use... Read More »
A bipartisan bill was recently introduced in the Senate by U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), aiming to establish a National Commission of the Cybersecurity of United States Election Systems.
Based on a similar structure set by the 9/11 Commission, the new... Read More »
Rep. Martha McSally (R-AZ) recently announced that Speaker of the House Paul Ryan selected her to participate in an informal group of Republican members of Congress focusing on border security and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
“Since taking office, I’ve made it... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives recently voted to change immigration law to make membership in a criminal gang both a deportable offense and justification for barring entry in the first place.
The bill, entitled the “Criminal Alien Gang Member Removal Act,” would allow the Department of... Read More »
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) and Ranking Member Eliot Engel (D-NY) recently introduced the Cyber Diplomacy Act, which would create a U.S. international cyber policy and promote working with other countries on promoting this policy.
“The U.S. is increasingly under... Read More »
Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) proposed legislation last week to strengthen the anti-money laundering (AML) and countering terrorism financing (CTF) system in the United States.
The draft legislation, the Anti-Money Laundering Modernization Act, seeks to modernize the system and update the regulatory... Read More »
A bill to help streamline and enhance intelligence sharing at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was recently advanced by the U.S. House of Representatives.
The legislation, titled the Unify DHS Intelligence Enterprise Act, was authored by U.S. Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA), who serves as... Read More »
Officials with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently announced that U.S. Border Patrol will soon begin testing small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) in an operational environment as part of a pilot program in late September.
According to CBP, each sUAS unit will allow agents in the... Read More »
The Board of the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) recently approved its FY2018 budget of $73.5 million, which will provide a focus on continued deployment, operation, and oversight of its nationwide public safety broadband network.
The budget also includes provisions for public... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers stationed at the Juarez-Lincoln Bridge near Laredo, Texas recently seized more than $9.7 million of alleged cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine over three separate incidents.
On Thursday, Sept. 7, officers encountered a 2000 Ford Explorer SUV... Read More »
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently conducted a study on the capabilities and challenges of medical device technologies in order to assess their abilities to rapidly diagnose infectious diseases.
As infectious diseases continue to pose a public health threat throughout the... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives advanced this week a bill that would require the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Intelligence and Analysis to evaluate the terrorist threat to the homeland for each of the next five fiscal years.
“The 9/11 Commission revealed that a “failure of... Read More »
A new experimental vaccine immunized genetically-altered mice from the Leishmania parasite, according to a recent study conducted by researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech).
With more than 30 different strains, Leishmania is classified at the world’s... Read More »
Rep. Dan Donovan (R-NY) announced this week that the U.S. House of Representatives advanced his amendment to restore funding to the National Urban Security Technology Laboratory (NUSTL).
NUSTL, which is located in New York City, researches, develops and assesses new technologies for use by law... Read More »
A bipartisan group of 36 U.S. senators recently called for an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission into the sale of approximately $2 million in Equifax securities held by company management prior to the news... Read More »
A new drug called AQ-13 was shown to be effective against non-severe cases of malaria, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at Tulane University.
Results of the study may prove to be significant as worldwide disease researchers are increasingly finding that the parasite... Read More »
A training event focusing on hazardous chemical incident response was recently held for Latin American and Caribbean first responders in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, managed by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
Part of the Exercise of Assistance and Protection for Latin... Read More »
Following a review of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) documentation on the effectiveness of six passenger aviation security countermeasures, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommended that the agency explore methods to evaluate the effectiveness and cost of those... Read More »
An office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced that it would provide up to $62 million over the next five years to Summit Therapeutics for the development of an antibiotic to combat Clostridium difficile infections (CDI).
The secondary infection can occur... Read More »
Rep. Robert Pittenger (R-NC), vice chair of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Terrorism and Illicit Finance, recently sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin urging the exploration of sanctions against Qatar-based terrorism financiers.
Reps. Robert Aderholt (R-AL), David... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released a report exploring U.S. efforts to stop profits from drug trafficking from entering financial systems in the Western Hemisphere through money laundering.
The report describes U.S. agency oversight and monitoring of compliance with the... Read More »
