Countermeasures
Director General for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Ahmet Üzümcü recently confirmed that the remaining chemical weapons stocks left in Libya have been successfully removed from the country.
The operation was facilitated in part by the OPCW in response to... Read More »
The U.S. government has become “somewhat complacent” in preparing for potential bioterrorist attacks and needs to implement a national biodefense strategy, Daniel Gerstein, a senior policy researcher at the nonpartisan RAND Corporation, recently told Homeland Preparedness News.
The anthrax... Read More »
Legislation that would require the United States to develop a national biodefense strategy to help prevent and respond to a bioterrorist attack or public health emergency is awaiting Senate floor action.
The Biodefense Strategy Act of 2016, S. 2967, would amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002... Read More »
More federal counterterrorism funding should be directed to local law enforcement agencies for human intelligence initiatives in urban areas where the risk of a terrorist attack is high, according to Matt Mayer, a homeland security expert at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), recently told... Read More »
A collaborative research effort by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health and Florida State University recently revealed two classes of compounds already in use in the pharmaceutical industry that might prove useful in the fight against Zika virus.... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), along with the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) Office of Law Enforcement and Federal Air Marshal Service Director Roderick Allison, highlighted a new security enhancement measure at the Albuquerque International Sunport on Friday.
Heinrich led... Read More »
Researchers supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) recently developed a novel system to grow norovirus in intestinal cells, which could bring about new therapeutic drugs and vaccines to combat the virus.
Intestinal cells are the natural site of norovirus... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Curt Clawson (R-FL) released a plan on Tuesday to introduce legislation that would appropriate $1.1 billion in funding for Zika virus prevention programs through Fiscal Year 2017 when the House reconvenes in early September.
“With each passing day that we do not act, the Zika... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) awarded Chembio Diagnostic Systems, Inc., a $5.9 million contract on Wednesday for the development of a Zika virus test for use in doctors’ offices.
Chembio is... Read More »
Johns Hopkins Medicine formally opened the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Zika Center on Tuesday, becoming the first known multidisciplinary Zika virus center in the world.
The center is composed of providers and related staff from departments and divisions at Johns Hopkins Medicine and the Johns Hopkins... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recently developed and demonstrated a network of smartphone-sized mobile devices that can detect trace amounts of radioactive materials.
DARPA said that the new SIGMA devices, paired with larger detectors along major roadways and bridges,... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) entered into a $2.6 million agreement on Monday with the DiaSorin Group to further the development of a Zika virus test that may help diagnose the virus more quickly.... Read More »
The Raytheon Company showcased its newest battle management tool on Monday at the U.S. Army’s Cyber Quest event.
Cyber and Electromagnetic Battle Management (CEMBM) integrates both cyber and electromagnetic spectrum awareness capabilities into the Army’s Electronic Warfare Program... Read More »
The city of San Diego selected Tenable Network Security, Inc., on Tuesday to provide improved security visibility and reduced threat exposure across the city network.
“One of the challenges I faced when I came on board three years ago was that the IT department had very little visibility and... Read More »
Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) released a study on Monday showing the successful treatment of monkeys infected with Sudan ebolavirus (SUDV) several days after infection.
Scientists have known about SUDV and Zaire ebolavirus (EBOV) since 1976, with EBOV being the... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded funding on Thursday to the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) to advance the React cybersecurity solution for utilities that monitors IT networks for near real-time detection of possible cyber intrusions.
React will aim to develop... Read More »
INTERPOL held a training course last week under the framework of the EU—ASEAN Migration and Border Management Program II to enhance border security.
The course was hosted by the Royal Brunei Police Force and focused on topics such as integrated border management, illegal immigration, human... Read More »
Raytheon Company released a comprehensive plan to the U.S. Army on Monday for the next generation of air and missile defense radar.
The plan was released as part of a process to specifically define the requirements for a future lower tier air and missile defense sensor (LTAMDS).... Read More »
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) approved plans on Friday set forth on July 6 to set up an EU border control system that brings together the European Union’s border agency, Frontex, and national border management authorities.
The plan calls for national authorities to continue the... Read More »
Ceragon Networks recently released a new wireless backhaul platform with enhanced security features that seeks to overcome what can at times be a major obstacle for public safety forces - access to a reliable and secure communications network.
Ceragon’s FibeAir IP-20 Assured Platform is geared... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved Emergent BioSolutions, Inc.’s supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for the manufacture of BioThrax (Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed) at the company’s large-scale Building 55 manufacturing facility in Lansing,... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) issued a request for information (RFI) on Thursday for ways to improve the protection of fixed, mobile ground and naval forces against a variety of small unmanned air systems (sUAS) technologies.
“DARPA is interested in identifying novel,... Read More »
Soligenix, Inc., released information regarding its performance and accomplishments in the second quarter on Thursday.
“We continue to be very encouraged with the positive results demonstrated in our Phase 2 oral mucositis trial with SGX942 and expect to report long-term safety data during... Read More »
Blighter Surveillance Systems, Ltd., made two appointments on Wednesday to assist the company in targeting the oil, gas and petrochemical markets with its Blighter B400 Series e-scan doppler radar and long-range thermal camera surveillance solution.
The Blighter B400 doppler radar delivers... Read More »
Smiths Detection was awarded a contract on Wednesday by the Falcon Group worth approximately $24.5 million to provide advanced detection systems for passenger checkpoints, baggage screenings and cargo screenings for airports across Egypt.
Smiths will provide x-ray scanners, people-screening... Read More »
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) exercised a contract option with Emergent BioSolutions, Inc., on Tuesday valued at $11.6 million over a 12-month period for the supply of vaccinia immune globulin (VIGIV) to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile (SNS).
The U.S. Food and... Read More »
ClinicalRM recently expanded access protocol with ZMapp, an investigational treatment for Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Africa and the United States.
ZMapp combines three monoclonal antibodies developed by Mapp Biopharmaceutical, Inc., and LeafBio, the commercialization arm of Mapp, to fight... Read More »
Hologic, Inc., entered into an agreement on Tuesday worth $4.1 million with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of the Assistance Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) to advance the development of a blood screening test that will detect Zika virus.
The one... Read More »
SIGA Technologies, Inc., received approval on Tuesday from its data safety monitoring board (DSMB) to complete enrollment in the second and final cohort of healthy subjects for the Phase III clinical study of TPOXX for the treatment of orthopoxvirus infections.
The approval was based on a study... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) called for action on Monday by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regarding potential cybersecurity vulnerabilities in voting machines and other information technology used in election systems across the U.S.
“Election security is critical and a cyberattack... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) renewed his push on Thursday to reintroduce legislation that would provide additional protections from the Zika virus to U.S. military men and women, including those serving in high-risk areas.
“At the start of June, I introduced an amendment to the 2017 National... Read More »
A major gap in international standards for biosafety in laboratories handling contagious pathogens potentially increases the risk that an accident could result in a disease outbreak that threatens global security, according to a recent study by the UPMC Center for Health Security.
The year-long... Read More »
A team of researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) recently developed a flexible material that is both highly breathable and protective from various biological agents that soldiers may come into contact with.
The material is the first key component of a new type of... Read More »
A disaster strikes a congested city, cell phone networks are overwhelmed and internet access is spotty. Nearly everyone has a mobile device in their pocket, but few can use them to communicate.
San Francisco-based start-up OpenGarden, Inc., has a solution to this type of crisis with its FireChat... Read More »
Deep Red, Raytheon Company’s team of cyber experts, is one of the featured teams competing in the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Cyber Grand Challenge finals during the DEF CON conference this week.
DARPA began the Cyber Grand Challenge as a computer security tournament... Read More »
