Countermeasures
The Institute of Nuclear Materials Management (INMM) recently recognized Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) researchers Nancy Jo Nicholas and Martyn Swinhoe for their contributions to the nuclear safeguards profession at its 58th annual meeting in Indian Wells, California.
Nicholas, who... Read More »
The International Space Station’s (ISS) microgravity environment could provide a means of improving the understanding of toxic nerve agents, such as sarin and VX, and how to combat them, according to a researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-supported Countermeasures Against... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) recently awarded two multi-year grants to Molly Duman Scheel, associate professor of medical and molecular genetics at the Indiana University School of Medicine-South Bend, to assist her work in abating mosquito-borne illnesses in order to keep military... Read More »
At a recent meeting of the National Governors Association (NGA), outgoing NGA Chair Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D-VA) provided an update to his year-long initiative on strengthening state cybersecurity defenses.
Beginning in 2016, McAuliffe launched a project, titled Meet the Threat: States Confront... Read More »
By a unanimous voice vote, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence last week sent the FY2018 Intelligence Authorization Act to the U.S. House of Representatives for consideration.
While funding for the bill was slightly lower than in the Trump Administration’s FY2018 budget... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) recently participated in the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT) workshop in Karlsruhe, Germany, where DHS personnel delivered a presentation on preparing U.S. scientists to serve as expert... Read More »
Two Zika virus vaccine candidates were shown to protect the developing fetus of female mice from infection and associated birth defects, according to a recent study conducted by the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB).
The findings, which were published in a recent issue of... Read More »
A recent discovery made by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) Schools of the Health Sciences revealed a loophole in which the influenza virus packages its genetic material to give rise to new strains of the flu.
The research, detailed in a recent issue of the journal Nucleic... Read More »
More than 135 researchers, representing 10 medical centers designated by the U.S. government as a Regional Ebola and other Special Pathogen Treatment Center (RESPTC), recently convened at the National Ebola Treatment and Education Center (NETEC) at Emory University in Atlanta for a two-day event to... Read More »
In response to fiscal concerns raised by a number of sheriffs in Arizona, U.S. Rep. Martha McSally (R-AZ) recently introduced legislation that would reauthorize a program to reimburse state and local governments for incarcerating undocumented immigrants who commit crimes in the United States.... Read More »
Fifteen analytical chemists representing Latin American and Caribbean member states to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), recently convened at the Laboratory for the Verification of Chemical Weapons (LAVEMA) in Madrid, Span for a two-week training course on the analysis of controlled chemical... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents recently made a large seizure of cocaine after intercepting a fishing vessel along the Miami River.
The incident began as CBP agents, along with one Border Patrol agent, boarded the vessel to process four crew members and their cargo as they... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. said on Friday it plans to acquire Sanofi’s ACAM2000 business, the only vaccine licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for active immunization against smallpox, in an all-cash transaction totaling up to $125 million.
ACAM2000 is the primary smallpox... Read More »
Border Patrol agents stationed along Interstate 5 near San Clemente, California recently made a seizure approximately 58 pounds of illicit narcotics during a single traffic stop.
The incident began as agents stopped a 2006 Chevrolet Equinox SUV driven by a 45-year old U.S. citizen. During... Read More »
Prior to an international conference of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) Secretary General Jürgen Stock emphasized the need for military successes to be translated into actionable intelligence for global police forces.
The information... Read More »
Tulane University was recently awarded $12 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to test a potential new drug treatment against the Lassa virus and to develop a vaccine candidate against the disease.
The awards were issued through NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Tim Murphy (R-PA) and Greg Walden (R-OR) recently sent a public letter to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), regarding the Blue Ribbon Panel’s review of the 2014 smallpox virus incident on the NIH campus that called into question a number of missed opportunities to discover vials... Read More »
The Florida State Department of Health recently entered into a data use agreement and analytics agreement with the University of North Carolina (UNC) to officially join the National Collaborative for Bio-Preparedness (NCBP), a network which aims improve national preparedness for biohazard-related... Read More »
A group of 24 first responders representing 15 Asian Member States to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) recently convened in Tehran, Iran for a training course on emergency assistance and protection against chemical weapons.
The course, which was organized by the Organization for the... Read More »
The number of passengers that will fly during the summer season is expected to surpass more than 2.5 million people per day, the highest number in years, according to recent estimates from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
According to the TSA, the week of June 25 - July 1, 2017... Read More »
Botulinum toxin, produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria, is the most potent biological toxin known to exist on Earth. The toxin causes botulism, a severe muscle-paralyzing, potentially fatal disease, characteristics that increase its likelihood as a potential bioweapon.
And while the U.S.... Read More »
A bipartisan group of Congress members recently sent a public letter to Defense Secretary James Mattis urging him to direct military departments to incorporate cybersecurity education into the Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) curricula for high school students.
The letter was... Read More »
Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D-VA) signed a letter this week, accepting the plan laid out by the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) and AT&T to build a wireless public safety broadband network throughout Virginia, making it the first state in the country to do so.
As part of the agreement,... Read More »
The New Mexico Department of Health recently awarded a second contract to researchers from the New Mexico State University (NMSU) to expand a previous project map that shows the geographic distribution of mosquitoes that could potentially carry the Zika virus.
According to a release by NMSU,... Read More »
An outbreak of the acute viral hemorrhagic fever illness called Lassa fever has recently been reported by officials from the World Health Organization (WHO) in multiple West African nations including Nigeria.
As of last month, a total of 501 suspected cases have been reported, 104 of which... Read More »
Medical first responders engaged in emergent chemical incident simulations last month during a training course designed to educate first responders in emergency medical situations involving toxic chemical contamination held in Madrid, Spain and hosted by the Organization for the Prohibition of... Read More »
According to a recent update conducted by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Department of Defense (DOD) has identified an infrastructure manager for the chemical and biological defense program (CBDP) and is in the process of developing the position’s roles and responsibilities.... Read More »
In response to a recently reported cyberattack that targeted the nation’s nuclear facilities, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) released a statement condemning the attack while reiterating a previous call for a cybersecurity assessment by the Trump Administration.
“The disturbing reports of... Read More »
Representatives of customs agencies from member states to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) recently convened at the headquarters of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to consider improvements to the CWC’s transfer regime during a three-day training seminar.
In... Read More »
The United States recently entered into a customs mutual assistance agreement (CMAA) with Bolivia and Georgia, which fosters collaborative efforts in security and facilities trade between the U.S. and both nations.
CMAAs work to provide the legal framework for the exchange of information and... Read More »
The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is set to host 10 hazardous materials response teams from Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Nebraska for the 21st annual Hazmat Challenge, pitting each team against one another in a series of graded, timed exercises from July 10 to 14.
The event, held... Read More »
A bill that establishes a grant program for military-civilian partnerships in trauma care to allow both the military and private citizens to benefit from each other’s expertise was recently advanced by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
The bill, titled the MISSION ZERO Act, was... Read More »
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the most-recent outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has officially concluded after
42 days.
According to WHO, the 42-day mark represents two incubation cycles of the virus after the last confirmed... Read More »
Two amendments to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act of 2017 that aim to improve transparency and security of the nation’s airspace were recently approved by the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee.
Both amendments were authored by U.S. Sen. Ron... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers stationed at ports of entry along the California border with Mexico recently seized more than 700 pounds of illicit narcotics, captured 13 fugitives from justice, and apprehended two would-be illegal undocumented immigrants over a series of... Read More »
