Research
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a spending package that includes $25 million for gun violence research.
The bill—sponsored by Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) -- now moves to the Senate for consideration. The Senate will vote on final passage in the coming days.... Read More »
Researchers from the University of California, Davis, and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have discovered that outbreaks of human disease may be due to genetic mutations and that viruses may change as they expand their geographic range.
The researchers studied how the Zika... Read More »
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) established the Infectious Diseases Clinical Research Consortium.
This leadership consortium will encompass NIAID’s Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Units (VTEUs). NIAID, which is part of the National Institute of Health (NIH),... Read More »
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) has delivered a cautious appraisal of the federal spending bill for FY 2020, noting that while it will strengthen public health and research efforts, it undercuts -- at Americans’ peril -- HIV investment and immunization efforts, among... Read More »
Approximately $200 million has been allocated for the creation of a universal influenza vaccine that could protect against multiple strains of the flu virus in Congress’s year-end spending package.
U.S. Sen, Edward Markey (D-MA) has spearheaded the effort to boost funding for the flu vaccine.... Read More »
A Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) research initiative examining worldwide critical infrastructure attacks determined America was the country most often targeted for cyberattacks regardless of motive.
The work showed the United States accounted for more than 19 percent of... Read More »
Recent tests of an experimental Zika virus vaccine in rhesus macaques, a primate, show the vaccine lowered levels of virus in pregnant monkeys and improved fetal outcomes, according to a new study in Science Translational Medicine.
Zika is transmitted via mosquitoes and through sex. It causes... Read More »
Bolstering what could become the first antibiotic developed and acquired by Project BioShield to treat drug-resistant bioterrorism agents, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) intends to supply up to $169 million to Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc. over the next five years.
The... Read More »
The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) recently awarded BAE Systems a more than $17 billion, 10-year multiple award indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract for Solutions for Intelligence Analysis 3 (SIA 3).
An IDIQ contract is awarded when the U.S. General Services Administration... Read More »
Researchers from Princeton University have found that climate change has the potential to make respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) outbreaks less severe but more common in high-risk areas.
The studies consisted of climate condition influence on annual outbreaks of RSV in the United States and... Read More »
Researchers from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, recently developed a self-cleaning, plastic surface that repels bacteria.
The goal is to prevent the transfer of dangerous bacteria and antibiotic-resistant superbugs.
The surface is a treated form of conventional transparent wrap... Read More »
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), long a source of concerted health efforts to combat one of the largest Ebola outbreaks ever recorded, experienced a sharp increase in cases last week -- and many may be linked to an individual’s reinfection.
In all, 27 new cases were confirmed last... Read More »
One of the most searing memories Thomas Frieden had during the 2014 West African Ebola outbreak was one in which he deeply questioned the international community’s effectiveness in supporting the health infrastructure of Ebola-plagued nations.
Then head of the Centers for Disease Control and... Read More »
Researchers from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Pune have identified 150 possible inhibitors within the Nipah virus -- giving them starting points for drugs to target for the currently untreatable disease.
"We conclude that it is highly likely that the proposed inhibitors... Read More »
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers have detected 27 firearms at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, breaking 2017’s record.
The most recent weapon was found Tuesday in the carry-on bag of a Sparks, Maryland, resident. The man was carrying a .25... Read More »
Researchers at the University of Queensland have created a technology that will help create safer hybrid viruses at higher volumes for research and diagnostic efforts involving mosquito-borne diseases.
The key to the technology was the Binjari virus. Study researchers exploited the benign... Read More »
The Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) issued a report recommending steps to improve the decision-making process for nuclear weapons use.
The President and Nuclear Weapons: Authorities, Limits, and Process specifically looks at the state of domestic and international law related to the use of... Read More »
The Stop TB Partnership launched an update to its plan to end tuberculosis that includes billions in annual funding.
The partnership’s Global Plan to End TB 2018-2022 calls for $2.6 billion per year for the research and development of new tuberculosis (TB) diagnostic tools, new drug regimens,... Read More »
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) are testing a vaccine to protect against serious diarrheal illnesses caused by food and water contaminated with bacteria like E. coli and Shigella.
Drs. Wilbur Chen and Eileen Barry will lead these tests, thanks to $4.5... Read More »
Per an agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Sanofi Pasteur will gain $226 million to increase its domestic pandemic influenza vaccine production capabilities.
This money will go to the clinical development and manufacturing of an adjuvanted recombinant pandemic... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommends the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) take steps to ensure screening technologies continue to meet requirements after they are installed at airports.
The TSA is responsible for security operations at approximately 440 TSA-regulated... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration launched CURE ID, an online repository that allows the clinical community to report their experiences treating infectious diseases.
CURE ID – which can be accessed via smartphone or other mobile devices – is a platform that enables the crowdsourcing of... Read More »
A new report by the RAND Corp. found that police crime centers that use technology, like remote cameras and analytic tools, may be able to reduce crime.
RAND researchers found significant reductions in some types of crimes in Chicago, including robberies and burglaries, using these tools and... Read More »
A new report recently showed that the Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine (TCV) has a more than 81 percent effective rate among vaccinated children in Nepal.
The report, provided to the New England Journal of Medicine by the Typhoid Vaccine Acceleration Consortium (TyVAC), was based on a field study of... Read More »
U.S. Border Patrol and the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) conducted 11 days of exercises and demonstrations in August in Sweetgrass, Mont.
The field test simulated illegal border crossings and evaluated portable, surveillance technologies that provide... Read More »
A new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that despite more countries recognizing and prioritizing the dangers of climate change and its potential impacts on health, they are not entirely acting to confront the situation.
Of 101 countries surveyed, half have developed a... Read More »
Faced with malaria parasites that are rapidly developing resistance to traditional front-line drugs, scientists from the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons have started to unravel the question of how with a new imaging study.
The focus of their photos was PfCRT, a... Read More »
The World Health Organization has reported 440,263 confirmed cases of measles as of Nov. 5., with most in Africa.
Specifically, in Africa, outbreaks are ongoing in Madagascar, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the Congo, there are 250,270 suspected cases with 5,110... Read More »
Study leaders who put to the test four separate experimental therapies for use against Ebola virus disease (EVD) say that all have proven effective after halting a clinical trial of the treatments in August.
“Response teams have faced unprecedented challenges in ongoing efforts to save lives... Read More »
Artificial Intelligence could help medical experts detect tuberculosis (TB) in patients if Cleveland-based Diascopic LLC can successfully bring their diagnostic technology to market.
Aiding them in this endeavor is a federal business innovation grant -- the National Institute of Health Small... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) will host an event for people interested in learning about funding opportunities in the detection canine field.
The event, which is focused on advancing detection canine research and development, is part of a... Read More »
The nation’s land grant universities play an important role in helping the federal government bolster agro-defense, according to scientists, policymakers, industry and academic leaders who participated in a recent Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense event held at Colorado State University... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions announced the updated results of its Phase 2 clinical study evaluating the safety and immunogenicity of its chikungunya virus virus-like particle (CHIKV VLP) vaccine candidate across a series of dosing regimens.
The interim analysis showed that after the first dose, up to... Read More »
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently approved the reopening and partial operations of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DOD’s) lead laboratory for medical biological defense research.
This... Read More »
The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Public Safety Communications Research Division recently announced the winners of its Haptic Interfaces for Public Safety Challenge.
Haptic interfaces produce sensory cues in equipment or devices. For example, vibrations in... Read More »
