Private
DNA synthesis technologies— a cornerstone of life sciences research and biotechnology development—are becoming more advanced and commercially available. Although much of this technology is used for clinical diagnosis and treatment, its potential exploitation may lead to ominous biological... Read More »
Scientists from the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research turned to an old plant virus -- the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) -- as the foundation for a new research effort: a second-generation malaria vaccine candidate.
Demonstrated in the Proceedings of the National Academy Sciences, the... Read More »
With those infected by the novel coronavirus – 2019-nCoV – now topping 7,000, the World Health Organization (WHO) and World Economic Forum have jointly created a public-private collaboration known as the Pandemic Supply Chain Network (PSCN) to drive the emergency supply chain.
The network... Read More »
As the outbreak of novel coronavirus -- 2019-nCoV -- continues unabated, a meeting of top officials from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the People’s Republic of China this week aimed to lockdown next steps for a unified assault on the virus.
The biggest news to come out of the meeting... Read More »
Raytheon Company has secured a five-year, $197 million contract Air Force contract to aid the branch in modernizing its missile warning architecture.
The effort involves developing the Future Operationally Resilient Ground Evolution (FORGE) Mission Data Processing Application Framework (MDPAF),... Read More »
Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) CEO and Co-Chairman Ernest J. Moniz called on public and private sector leaders at last week’s 50th World Economic Forum (WEF) to work to reduce the biological risks associated with advances in technology.
Safety and security measures have not kept pace with... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued the Department of Commerce a series of recommendations addressing FirstNet contract oversight with state officials and other stakeholders.
FirstNet has been tasked with establishing a nationwide broadband network for public safety officials,... Read More »
Faced with a novel coronavirus -- 2019-nCoV -- that continues to spread worldwide, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced this week that it will commit $10 million toward containment in China and Africa.
The funds will be split down the middle: $5 million will go to response support in... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has joined the international effort to fight the Wuhan coronavirus -- a novel coronavirus known as 2019-nCoV -- through assistance to developers, a public information campaign and diagnostics development.
“We have a vital mission to protect and... Read More »
Two new reports reveal a weak pipeline for new antibiotics to combat drug-resistant infections.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says this is due to declining private investment and the lack of innovation in the development of new antibiotics.
“Never has the threat of antimicrobial... Read More »
Confirmed infections of the Wuhan coronavirus reached five people in the United States over the weekend, with already known cases in Washington state and Chicago being joined by new patients in California and Arizona.
In all cases, the patients recently returned to the United States from Wuhan,... Read More »
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed a second U.S. case of the Wuhan coronavirus on Friday, pointing to a patient in Chicago while revealing that 63 other possible cases are being tracked across 22 states.
Though Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center... Read More »
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) issued a warning this week on the discovery of the Wuhan coronavirus in the United States, stating strong prevention and control practices, safety equipment, and funding support are critical to moving forward.
The Wuhan coronavirus -- known to... Read More »
The City of Port St. Lucie, Fla., received a $1 million federal grant to install fiber optic cables to improve emergency communication systems.
The grant came through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP). The city will use the money to install more... Read More »
Georgia Tech Applied Research Center (GTARC) received a $704,000 research and development contract from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) to help improve the public safety community’s information sharing and safeguarding (IS&S)... Read More »
A pair of researchers at George Mason University -- associate professor Aarthi Narayanan and assistant professor Remi Veneziano -- have received funding from the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA) for work on a new vaccine design.
That design has the potential to... Read More »
Thanks to data unveiled through Freedom of Information Act requests, the nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance launched the largest scale database of U.S. animal imports in history last week and, in the process, revealed that the nation imported more than 3.2 billion live animals over 15 years.
The data... Read More »
A technology system developed and licensed by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to track and secure radiological material will be produced and deployed into Latin America under a new arrangement between PNNL and Golden Security Services of Miami.
The Mobile Source Transit Security... Read More »
BAE Systems has acquired Collins Aerospace’s Military Global Positioning System (GPS) business, as well as Raytheon’s Airborne Tactical Radio operation.
The asset purchase agreement for the Collins enterprise calls for cash totaling $1.925 billion, with an expected tax benefit of... Read More »
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) officials recently announced the preliminary results of its initial Gremlins program testing initiative, which seeks to enhance aircraft retrieve efficiently and turnaround preparation efforts.
The X-61A vehicle test conducted in late November at... Read More »
SecuLore Solutions was awarded $750,000 by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) to improve the resiliency of the nation’s emergency communications infrastructure.
SecuLore will work to eliminate cybersecurity attacks against emergency... Read More »
A pair of reports from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows a weak incoming pipeline of antibiotics, and, according to the organization, this lack of innovation is only going to degrade efforts to counter drug-resistant infections.
Research and development, according to the twin reports,... Read More »
Pandemic preparedness collaboration among private businesses with the public sector is critically important at this time, say experts at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, the World Economic Forum, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
“The next severe pandemic will not only... Read More »
The U.S. Army’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded Lockheed Martin a $31.9 million hypersonic missile contract.
The award is for the Operational Fires (OpFires) Phase 3 Weapon System Integration program, a ground-launched hypersonic boost glide missile system designed... Read More »
The U.S. Army Installation Management Command (IMCOM) awarded KBR a three-year contract to provide video evidence management services for the Mobile Federal Law Enforcement Enterprise Technology Service (M-FLEETS) program.
As part of the contract, KBR will install dash cameras, digital video... Read More »
Biologists from the University of California San Diego, along with a team of researchers from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, recently engineered synthetic mosquitoes capable of neutralizing many types of dengue virus.
The study focuses on Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which spread dengue to... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) recently awarded Stranger Labs $197,021 in Phase 1 funding.
The company will develop a method that makes digital credentials verifiable offline so they offer the same convenience of paper-based... Read More »
Seventeen years after the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) global epidemic, its shadow lingers in an ongoing outbreak of mysterious pneumonia cases in China, which an international group of researchers says showcase the potential for pathogens to appear suddenly and wreak deadly global... Read More »
The U.S. Navy recently awarded Lockheed Martin a $13.9 million engineering services contract to continue supporting engineering and fielding efforts for the Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP).
The contract is part of a five-year agreement that will total $75 million if all... Read More »
CARB-X has awarded $3.2 million to Trellis Bioscience and dangled the possibility of $3.8 million more for the creation of a monoclonal antibody that can disrupt superbugs’ protective coating.
The bacteria that become superbugs have a biofilm coating that protects them from antibiotics. By... Read More »
The Partnership for Research on Ebola Vaccination (PREVAC) recently launched a new project called PREVAC-UP, which will evaluate three Ebola vaccine regimens for five years after vaccination.
The study will assess several factors within these treatments: their long-term safety, the durability... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. got the go-ahead from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to pursue its proposed development plan for its chikungunya virus vaccine candidate.
The company has proposed conducting a Phase 3 trial using Serum Neutralizing Antibodies (SNA) to predict clinical benefit of... Read More »
DARPA’s Subterranean Challenge Urban Circuit is looking to change the nature of subterranean warfare, and as of last week, 17 teams have qualified to demonstrate breakthroughs and solutions to existing problems.
Operating underground is, by its nature, highly challenging for humans. Both... Read More »
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded a $1.4 million grant to the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) to ensure standards and reagents are available to low-cost oral cholera vaccine (OCV) manufacturers.
International standardization in the manufacturing and release of OCV will... Read More »
City of Annapolis, Md., personnel recently espoused the benefits of FirstNet, the public safety broadband network designed to enhance public safety communications as a means of protecting residents and visitors.
The Annapolis Police Department (APD), Public Works, the Office of Emergency... Read More »
