Research
A Colorado State University (CSU) study maintains the advent of Rift Valley fever in the state would deliver significant consequences for humans and livestock.
The virus is a global health concern caused by infected mosquitos and the handling of infected animal carcasses. Every 10 to 15 years,... Read More »
Biotechnology firm Public Health Vaccines, LLC has secured a Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) contract of up to $43.6 million to develop a single-dose Nipah virus vaccine.
Public Health Vaccine is slated to partner with Crozet BioPharma during the initiative while up to $9... Read More »
In a study published in the International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents, a scientific team reported that continued resistance to two critical antibiotic types that are still widely distributed in Southeast Asia is raising the risk of untreatable infections.
Carbapenems and polymyxins are being... Read More »
A new study published in the journal iScience reveals that the already Food and Drug Administration-approved drug nitazoxanide may hold promise as an Ebola treatment.
Nitazoxanide, or NTZ, is not traditionally used for Ebola treatment. Rather, it is a treatment for gastrointestinal infections... Read More »
Lockheed Martin has secured a $320 million Missile Defense Agency contract to continue the Ballistic Missile Defense System’s (BMDS) progression.
The effort would focus on the Command, Control, Battle Management and Communications (C2BMC) system.
“The critical mission of missile defense... Read More »
The Sabin Vaccine Institute and GSK announced this week exclusive agreements for Sabin to advance the development of three GSK candidate vaccines against Ebola Zaire, Ebola Sudan, and the Marburg virus.
“These agreements with the Sabin Vaccine Institute are an important next step in the fight... Read More »
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently identified several challenges related to the nation’s ability to detect and respond to biological events. These hurdles transcend what any one federal department or agency can individually address.
The GAO found four precarious areas,... Read More »
The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) instituted last week a new final rule, altering its 2020 Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) in a way that changes how Medicare services are paid for, along with greater payment for newer antimicrobial drugs.
The new rule... Read More »
Honeywell has joined the Global Cybersecurity Alliance (GCA) as a means of aiding the process of keeping infrastructure and building systems secure and protected.
“Cybersecurity is the great equalizer for any company,” Matthew Bohne, vice president and chief product security officer -... Read More »
A new test for tuberculosis will soon be available for research use, and its creators -- Advanced Biological Laboratories (ABL) and the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) -- say that it will be smaller, more portable and more affordable than its contemporaries.
Known as... Read More »
Sens. Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) introduced this week a bill requiring the State Department to investigate potential benefits of establishing a U.S.-Israel cybersecurity center.
According to the legislators, the U.S.-Israel Cybersecurity Center of Excellence Act would aid in... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) five recommendations as a means of addressing nuclear security program concerns.
The IAEA executes its nuclear security program under its Division of Nuclear Security through four subprograms,... Read More »
A new weapon has moved closer to readiness, following completion of a successful baseline design review by defense contractor Raytheon Company and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
The Tactical Boost Glide system, as it is known, is a boost glide weapon -- meaning it uses a... Read More »
Global research and development company Battelle officially signed onto the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA’s) Epigenetic Characterization and Observation (ECHO) program this week, to develop a quick and mobile means of identifying those touched by weapons of mass destruction... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded SIGA Technologies a contract valued at up to $19.5 million, with an initial award of $12.4 million, to advance work that could provide a label expansion for TPOXX, a drug used to treat smallpox.
This multi-year contract, which was announced this... Read More »
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) is partnering with biotech company Valneva to fund the development of a single-dose vaccine for the disease Chikungunya.
Chikungunya is spread by the bites of infected female Aedes mosquitoes. It causes fever, severe joint pain, muscle... Read More »
University of Maryland’s National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) recently was awarded a contract to train fire intelligence officers and senior leaders within the National Capital Region.
The training will be through the Department of Homeland... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a series of recommendations to federal agencies as a means of assisting with methods of addressing accompanying challenges.
The GAO outlined 57 recommendations to the 23 agencies and one to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in... Read More »
The Senate Intelligence Committee released last week the first volume of a report exploring the body’s investigation into Russia’s attempts to interfere with the 2016 election.
“Over the past two years, the Senate Intelligence Committee has investigated Russia’s relentless efforts to... Read More »
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently developed the Autocidal Gravid Ovitrap (AGP trap) intending to slow down the growth of the mosquito population.
The AGP trap is meant to attract and capture female mosquitoes looking to lay eggs and grow mosquito populations.... Read More »
A study conducted by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) Clinical Trials Center reveals that a new vaccine for Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS CoV) may be viable for human use.
Developed by GeneOne Life Science Inc. and Inovio Pharmaceuticals, the vaccine... Read More »
In 2018, there were 156 incidents in 23 countries where nuclear and other radioactive materials were found outside of regulatory control, according to the updated annual edition of the Global Incidents and Trafficking Database.
The database is produced by the James Martin Center for... Read More »
Thanks to the efforts of data analyst and visualization technologist Ryan Chen, of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a new model gives emergency responders a means of simulating and testing a situation no one ever wants to witness firsthand: the explosion of a radiological dispersal... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate announced Tuesday a $10.5 million funding opportunity for a new DHS Center of Excellence (COE).
COEs are led by U.S. universities that have multiple partners from other universities, commercial interests, DHS, and... Read More »
Growing drug resistance has left a frontline malaria drug combination all but useless, according to recent randomized trials focused on Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Multidrug-resistant parasites are to blame, their rapidly evolving resistance to antimalarial drugs leading to significantly... Read More »
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials have reissued the National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) Bulletin, which maintains a focus on domestic terror threats.
DHS began using the report in 2015 as a means of highlight continuing terror threats in America. Officials noted that the... Read More »
Two federal laboratories under the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) recently held the first phase of testing for handheld explosive trace detectors (ETDs).
The detectors are used to find trace explosives on individuals, hopefully preventing a dangerous... Read More »
SpectralMD, Inc. recently received a 2-year, $27.3 million contract from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office (DHHS) of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) to create a burn imaging device that is portable and quick.
“We want to give medical providers... Read More »
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Colorado State University (CSU) have partnered to advance the development of a Rift Valley fever (RVF) virus vaccine.
The European Union’s (EU’s) Horizon 2020 program enabled CEPI to provide up to $9.5 million to the university... Read More »
With an outbreak of Ebola continuing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the United Nations (UN) hosted Monday a high-level meeting that reaffirmed support for their system-wide approach to combating the disease and reaffirmed support for the government-led response.
The disease has... Read More »
A new amendment advanced by the House last week will require the Inspector General of the Department of Defense (DOD) to investigate claims that the DOD weaponized Lyme disease in ticks and other insects from 1950 to 1975.
The amendment was introduced by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), who has... Read More »
With measles outbreaks growing globally by as much as 300 percent in the first three months of 2019 alone, public health experts are calling for action through strong political support and equally strong public health systems.
"In a globalized society in which we are all connected, a disease as... Read More »
An effort similar to the Manhattan Project — in which American-led R&D produced the first nuclear weapons during World War II — is needed now in defense against the growing global threats posed by infectious diseases and bioterrorism, sources said Thursday during a Blue Ribbon Study Panel on... Read More »
Under a new partnering agreement between Wageningen Bioveterinary Research and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), up to $12.5 million will be put to manufacturing, research and a phase 1 study of a single-dose vaccine for the Rift Valley fever virus.
The vaccine is made... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security recently released its annual report on Mass Attacks in Public Spaces (MAPS).
Last year there were 27 targeted attacks in the United States in public spaces in which three or more persons were harmed. A total of 91 people were killed and 107 were... Read More »
