Countermeasures
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) recently conducted a workshop attended by chemistry professionals from across Africa to assist in the implementation of industry-related provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
The workshop, held in Nairobi, included... Read More »
A research team at the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) recently began work on a system that will utilize portable analytical equipment to help detect food and water contaminants.
ECBC said that the system, called the Agents of Biological Origin Identifier (ABOid), could help... Read More »
More than 100 first responders gathered in New York this week for the state’s largest emergency response training exercise featuring realistic scenarios inspired by terrorist threats in the United States and abroad and utilizing the newest communications technology for law enforcement.
The... Read More »
Smiths Detection on Wednesday released new features for their non-radioactive, hand-held explosive threat detector, called the TRACE-PRO, that now has the additional capability to detect and identify triacetone triperoxide (TATP).
TATP is notable for its use in a recent terrorist attack in... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the State Sponsors of Terrorism Review Enhancement Act, H.R. 5484, authored by U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL).
“Today, Congress sent a message to supporters of terrorism, if you engage in terrorist activity or are a state sponsor of terror; you... Read More »
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released a study regarding the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives (CBRNE) program consolidation proposal.
The GAO report found that DHS’s documentation related to... Read More »
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently released plans to hold a contest to develop new, innovative laboratory diagnostic tools that detect antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
The contest, called the Antimicrobial Resistance Diagnostic Challenge, will award prizes totaling $20 million over... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Dan Donovan (R-NY) introduced the Transit Security Grant Program Flexibility Act, H.R.5943, on Thursday to improve the ability of transit agencies to prevent and respond to terror attacks.
Donovan said that his bill will give flexibility to the Transit Security Grant Program (TSGP),... Read More »
The Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), along with the World Institute for Nuclear Security (WINS), is holding a one-day workshop entitled “Radiological Security: Increasing Transparency and Voluntary Reporting” this week in Berlin.
The workshop serves as a key component to continued progress... Read More »
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc., released positive results on Wednesday from a proof-of-concept study of its broad spectrum antiviral, BCX4430, for the delayed treatment of Ebola virus infection in rhesus macaques.
The study sought to assess the effects of different dosing regimes of BCX4430... Read More »
Aeolus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., recently released data confirming the efficacy of AEOL 10150 as a medical countermeasure against sulfur mustard gas inhalation.
Research for the study was conducted by Dr. Brian Day, vice chair of research at National Jewish Health, in collaboration with the U.S.... Read More »
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently awarded $2.4 million to Chicago, Houston, New York City, Philadelphia and Los Angeles County for information-gathering systems to detect microcephaly.
Microcephaly is a serious birth defect of the brain that is closely linked to... Read More »
INTERPOL recently conducted a series of cybercrime training sessions in Latin America and the Caribbean seeking to enhance regional law enforcement capacity to respond to and prevent cyberthreats.
The training efforts served as an important part of INTERPOL’s Cybercrime Capacity Building... Read More »
Sandia National Laboratories recently won the 2016 Federal Laboratory Consortium Award for Excellence in Technology for their efforts in the development of the x-ray toolkit (XTK) image processing and analysis software.
The XTK was developed in the wake of the 2013 Boston bombing incident that... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, released a report on Thursday detailing the senator’s work during the 114th Congress.
Included in the report were 18 hearings on America’s non-secure border and the public health... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) recently provided Takeda Vaccines, Inc., with a grant to develop a Zika virus vaccine.
The grant, worth $19.8 million, will be spaced out over the course of the next 18... Read More »
The Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC), along with private technology developers, recently tested a new integrated system of chemical and biological agent sensors at Dugway Proving Ground’s West Desert Test Center in Utah.
ECBC’s team worked to develop an unmanned aerial vehicle,... Read More »
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 »
