Research
The results of a six-year study conducted by the nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance were released this week, and the data revealed that Nipah virus is not as confined to what is traditionally known as the Nipah belt along the Bangladesh-India border as previously thought.
Bats throughout Bangladesh... Read More »
Reps. Rick Larsen (D-WA) and Don Beyer (D-VA) recently introduced a measure designed to develop a national aviation preparedness plan regarding future public health emergencies.
The National Aviation Preparedness Plan Act of 2020 is supported by key aviation stakeholders, including the American... Read More »
The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Defense (DoD) awarded a $12.7 million contract to expand production capacity for two rapid COVID-19 point-of-care tests with InBios International Inc. last week.
This will allow InBios to expand the number of tests it produces by 20... Read More »
The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star will head to the Arctic region this winter to help protect the nation’s maritime sovereignty and security in the region.
The Coast Guard has served as the lead federal agency for homeland security, safety, and environmental stewardship in the Arctic... Read More »
The Department of Defense (DOD) maintains the recent release of its Electromagnetic Spectrum Superiority Strategy aligns electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) activities with national economic and technology policy goals.
The effort is following the 2017 National Security Strategy and the 2018 National... Read More »
In a phase three clinical trial, University Hospitals (UH) and Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) will study AstraZeneca’s vaccine candidate -- AZD1222 -- for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Approximately 80 clinical investigation sites across the country will enroll up to... Read More »
Data compiled by the Rhode Island Department of Health’s (RIDOH) Office of the State Medical Examiners show the state saw a sharp increase in the number of accidental drug overdose deaths in the first seven months of 2020.
Between January and July 2020, the state tallied 233 accidental drug... Read More »
The states of Washington, Oregon, and Nevada have joined California’s COVID-19 Scientific Safety Review Workgroup, which will independently review the safety and efficacy of any vaccine approved by the FDA for distribution.
“California has led with science and data through the COVID... Read More »
Sanofi and GSK have signed an agreement with Gavi, the legal administrator of the COVAX Facility, to make available 200 million doses of their COVID-19 vaccine, if approved by regulators, to the COVAX Facility.
“To address a global health crisis of this magnitude, it takes unique partnerships.... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) began this month soliciting support for repurposing therapeutics into medical countermeasures against chemical threats.
The organization is now accepting abstract submissions for potential funding through its Division of... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) three recommendations regarding the department's efforts to improve workforce planning and monitoring.
The GAO analysis stemmed from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) within DHS increasing its... Read More »
A collaborative paper from researchers at the University of Oxford, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal this week, argued that meaningful comparison between potential COVID-19 vaccines will need standardized methods and ongoing studies to determine efficacy.
The authors of the... Read More »
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has crafted Cybersecurity Framework guidelines addressing positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) data - to strengthen critical infrastructure.
The new guidelines are designed to help mitigate cybersecurity risks endangering systems... Read More »
New research from the University University of Maryland’s National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) found tremendous diversity in hate crime offenders' backgrounds and motivations.
Researchers determined that these criminals are a diverse group, varying... Read More »
Researchers from McGill University are tracking the global race for a COVID-19 vaccine with a new online tool that tracks real-time progress on the development of the more than 50 candidates currently in human trials.
"Our goal with the vaccine tracker is to help the public find and access... Read More »
Leaders of the effort to develop a COVID-19 vaccine said Tuesday more than 60,000 Americans have volunteered to participate in clinical trials at six different pharma companies with the goal to begin distributing a vaccine by January.
Operation Warp Speed, created by the Trump administration... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) SIGMA+ program conducted a test of advanced chemical and biological sensing systems in the Indianapolis area this past August.
DARPA collected more than 250 hours of daily life background atmospheric data in the city that helped train... Read More »
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) gained a $20 million investment from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) last week to support the development of vaccines targeting emerging infectious diseases.
These funds will be provided over a five year period,... Read More »
Roche and Atea Pharmaceuticals, Inc. are now collaborating on the development, manufacture, and distribution of AT-527, an Atea-created investigational oral antiviral for use on COVID-19.
The drug, which is currently in phase two clinical trials for hospitalized patients with moderate COVID-19,... Read More »
While the pursuit of treatments and vaccines for COVID-19 is ongoing, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a major milestone last week with the approval of the first treatment for the deadly disease: Gilead Sciences Inc.’s Veklury, also known as remdesivir.
The approval is... Read More »
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has expanded the manufacturing network for its COVID-19 vaccine portfolio.
The nonprofit foundation, which finances independent research projects to develop vaccines against emerging infectious diseases, has signed vaccine manufacturing... Read More »
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) officials said a geospatial technology lab slated for launch at the T-REX innovation center in St. Louis, Missouri, would advance regional NGA, industry, and academia efforts.
“We will deliver trusted GEOINT with the speed, accuracy, and precision... Read More »
Researchers with The Pew Charitable Trusts have found that expanding access to naloxone, and changing public policy to ensure the opioid-overdose reversal drug gets into the hands of those who need it, can reduce opioid-related overdose deaths.
Additionally, researchers said, expanded access to... Read More »
BioIndustrial Manufacturing and Design Ecosystem (BioMADE) has secured an $87 million Department of Defense (DoD) pact for a new Manufacturing Innovation Institute (MII).
The seven-year award to the University of Minnesota-based firm will collaborate with public and private entities to advance... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) has enlisted its clinical studies network's services to assist with a COVID-19 clinical trial.
Officials said Technical Resources International, Inc. (TRI), a BARDA subsidiary, would support the clinical trial in conjunction... Read More »
The National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC) in the United Kingdom and Q2 Solutions in the United States became the latest labs to join the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations’ (CEPI) centralized laboratory network for COVID-19 vaccines this week.
“We are... Read More »
A cooperative effort between The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) and the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) gave life to the Texas Coronavirus Antibody Response Survey (CARES) this week, to chart how many people in Texas have COVID-19... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) awarded contracts this week to ICON Government & Public Health Solutions, Pharm-Olam LLC, PRA Health Sciences, Inc., and Technical Resources International, Inc. for the development of various medical countermeasures.
Granted... Read More »
The National Institutes of Health kicked off a large, phase three clinical trial last week to chart the safety and efficacy of three modulator drugs being considered for use on patients hospitalized with COVID-19.
The three drugs to be used are Janssen Research & Development, LLC’s infliximab... Read More »
A randomized control trial on COVID-19 therapeutics has generated conclusive evidence on the effectiveness of repurposed drugs -- like remdesivir and hydroxychloroquine, among others -- to treat COVID-19.
The results from the Solidarity Therapeutics Trial, coordinated by the World Health... Read More »
A new report by the Rand Corporation finds that Facebook users would be less likely to spread Russian propaganda if they knew it emanated from a Russian source.
Russia uses political memes to polarize Americans, particularly those at the extreme ends of the political spectrum, according to Rand... Read More »
Another COVID-19 vaccine candidate shows promise for antibodies produced, at least in preclinical results released by Sanofi Pasteur and Translate Bio last week for their mRNA-based offering, MRT5500.
The candidate produced neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 -- the virus that causes... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and Beckman Coulter are joining forces to fund a multi-center clinical trial of Beckman Coulter’s Monocyte Distribution Width (MDW) hematology biomarker, a test meant to rapidly detect MIS-C.
MIS-C, or Multisystem Inflammatory... Read More »
Researchers with the U.S. Army Futures Command are developing alternative ways to measure COVID-19 antibody levels that are faster, easier, and less expensive.
Their work revolves around finding alternatives to measuring virus neutralization, or VN, titers. This process is the gold standard of... Read More »
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) launched a study to determine whether certain approved therapies or investigational drugs show promise against COVID-19.
The ACTIV-5 Big Effect Trial is being conducted in partnership with the National Institutes of Health’s... Read More »
