Research
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded a contract of up to $4.7 million to BAE Systems to integrate machine learning (ML) into platforms deciphering radio frequency signals.
Officials said the Controllable Hardware Integration for Machine-learning Enabled Real-time... Read More »
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Safeguards Statement for 2018 recently determined that the amount of nuclear material subject to IAEA safeguards is continuing to rise.
“Since 2010, the amount of nuclear material under safeguards has increased by 24 percent,” Massimo Aparo,... Read More »
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded a $3.15 million grant to scientists at Portland State University (PSU) to fuel research into a pill-based cure for malaria.
The funding will go to advance the research toward clinical trials. The study is built on the back of a compound created... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is holding a competition where teams use robots to navigate and search dark, dangerous, and unpredictable underground tunnels.
The Virtual Tunnel Circuit competition features nine teams vying for prizes totaling $500,000. The competition... Read More »
In testimony before the House Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on National Security, Dr. Helen Boucher -- treasurer for the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) -- called for action to circumvent the growth of antimicrobial resistance.
“While bacteria develop resistance in nature,... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently reviewed reports issued from December 2009 through March 2019 on various biological threats and biodefense efforts.
The agency concluded many challenges remain.
GAO concluded in 2011 that there was no broad, integrated national strategy and... Read More »
Immigration and Custom and Enforcement (ICE) Executive Associate Director Nathalie R. Asher recently offered an assessment of the agency’s January-March 2019 enforcement statistics, citing a commitment to arresting unlawfully present aliens.
“During this time period, more than 85 percent of... Read More »
Dr. Baozhang Wang -- an associate professor in Georgia State University’s Institute for Biomedical Sciences -- received $3.26 million in federal funding this week to help develop a universal flu vaccine over the next five years.
"A novel approach to fighting the flu is needed because there are... Read More »
Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories recently discovered a vulnerability in a standard open-source software for genomic analysis DNA-based medical diagnostics.
Such a vulnerability leaves the software open to cyberattacks.
Researchers found a weak spot while studying the software’s... Read More »
Scientists at UC Riverside are celebrating a discovery about 30 years in the making: a neurotoxin component of a bacteria with the potential to kill malaria-bearing Anopheles mosquitoes, without risk to humans.
The scientists said the neurotoxin poses no risk to any living thing beyond these... Read More »
A new study built on machine learning recently identified four bat species that have the potential to spread Nipah virus in India, which was hit by a virus outbreak in 2018.
The study, published in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, claims that its findings could help guide surveillance and... Read More »
Dr. Asha George understands firsthand the threats biological agents can cause. George, who is executive director of the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense, served in Operation Desert Storm. She knows what it’s like to be standing on the battlefield wondering whether antimicrobial resistant... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is acting upon GAO recommendations offered to enhance airport screening tests while also addressing vulnerabilities.
In order to test screening at airports, TSA personnel regularly covert tests to... Read More »
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently launched a large clinical trial to investigate the drug delamanid, understanding its safety and efficacy in regards to multidrug-resistant strains of tuberculosis (TB).
Throughout the study, MDR-TB will be compared to the older isoniazid in... Read More »
A new report from U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Tom Carper (D-DE) details the failure of eight federal agencies, over the course of two administrations, to address vulnerabilities in their IT infrastructure.
The senators, who serve as the chairman and ranking member of the Permanent... Read More »
The Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing (PAHPA) Innovation Act, S. 1379, became law on Monday with the president’s signature, prompting accolades from national stakeholders, company executives and federal lawmakers.
The far-reaching law ensures the United States will be better... Read More »
Science and technology firm Battelle is a finalist in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate’s Opioid Detection Challenge.
The $1.55 million global prize competition seeks to develop tools to aid the process of locating illicit opioids in international... Read More »
In the fight against malaria, researchers are examining high-resolution images to chart the progress and burden of the disease on a geographic scale.
The research was conducted over two separate studies from 2000 to 2017. They were led by the Malaria Atlas Project (MAP), in collaboration with... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is developing millimeter wave shoe screening technology designed to enhance airport security.
The initiative stems from the Screening at Speed Program, which began in 2016 and is pursuing transformative research... Read More »
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued recommendations for National Nuclear Security Administration contractors.
The contractors design and manufacture explosive materials for nuclear weapons, and there are approximately 100 different nuclear- weapon components that... Read More »
Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis recently discovered that an experimental flu drug known as favipiravir cures mice infected with the potentially lethal Bourbon virus.
At least, that’s the case with mice. The drug has been previously approved in Japan... Read More »
A recent study from the University of Cambridge alleges that half of all Ebola outbreaks have gone unseen and unrecorded since the virus was first discovered in 1976.
While this supports advocates’ push for improved detection and rapid response to the disease, it also means the situation... Read More »
International leaders and organizations are unprepared for a global catastrophic biological event, according to a report from Georgetown University’s Center for Global Health Science and Security, the Center for Global Development, and the Nuclear Threat Initiative.
Leaders and organizations... Read More »
A new study suggests that comprehensive health system planning can stymie the effects of a deliberate release of smallpox in a city, a nightmare scenario for public health officials.
The research, which was published today in the online journal PLOS One, said that if a health system response is... Read More »
A new case of Ebola has popped up in Uganda, in the first incident of international cross-over since an outbreak began in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) back in August 2018.
While governmental and international agencies have worked hard to keep the disease from spreading... Read More »
The latest dengue research reveals that within approximately 60 years, the risk of the virus dengue will grow to such an extent that it will put at risk more than 6 billion people, due to population growth, climate change, and increased urbanization.
The virus is one spread by mosquitoes, and... Read More »
The recently introduced Developing an Innovative Strategy for Antimicrobial Resistant Microorganisms (DISARM) Act -- S. 1712 -- proposes to alter Medicare reimbursement for antibiotics, promote their use and encourage new developments.
Introduced by U.S. Sens. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Bob Casey... Read More »
Under a new partnering agreement with Themis Bioscience, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) will provide up to $21 million for the company’s phase 3-ready Chikungunya vaccine.
CEPI seeks to hasten regulatory approval of the vaccine by providing a large portion of the... Read More »
New research from scientists at the Universities of Surrey and Cambridge has investigated a relatively undefined concept in disease research -- vulnerability -- and assessed it for both Ebola and Lassa fever.
Vulnerability is the assessment of a country’s ability or lack thereof to resist or... Read More »
The Department of Defense (DOD) recently awarded Texas Biomedical Research Institute a $2 million grant through the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program to develop a Zika Virus vaccine.
Zika is a mosquito-borne disease that can result in birth defects such as microcephaly.
"If... Read More »
Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) personnel are espousing the benefits of the recently completed Joint Innovation Battle Lab (JIBL), an exercise targeting integration of operations, intelligence, and technology.
“Our technology is cutting-edge and we’re excited to showcase it,” Matt Avery,... Read More »
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has joined forces with vaccine safety organization Brighton Collaboration on a new project dedicated to assessing the safety of CEPI-funded vaccine candidates.
The project has been dubbed the Safety Platform for Emergency vACcines... Read More »
An experimental new drug from Gilead Sciences, Inc. has proven effective in treating lethal doses of Nipah virus in four African green monkeys, following testing with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Nipah virus, an emerging pathogen mainly found in Bangladesh and India, is... Read More »
There have been 971 cases of measles in the United States thus far in 2019, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
This is the highest number of cases in the United States since 1992 when 963 cases were reported for the whole year. The CDC has been... Read More »
Air Force and Navy personnel have announced the transfer of responsibility for future narrowband satellite communications, which officials said develops an integrated space enterprise architecture.
Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson and Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer recently... Read More »
