Research
Human vulnerability remains a major opening for cybersecurity incidents, according to a 2019 incident response report released last week by BAE Systems.
The report surveyed numerous organizations through engagement with board level executives, IT decision makers, and information security... Read More »
The United States is not as prepared as it could be in key areas of public health disaster management, according to a recently issued report by Trust for America’s Health.
In Ready or Not: Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism, the report’s authors... Read More »
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and biopharmaceutical company CureVac AG recently announced a partnership worth up to $34 million for the development of a vaccine-boosting creation known as The RNA Printer.
The RNA Printer is a mobile, automated printing facility for... Read More »
Several federal government agencies, including the
Department of Homeland Security, introduced a program this week called the
Opioid Detection Challenge, a $1.55 million competition to develop opioid
detection technologies.
The Opioid Detection Challenge calls upon innovators
to submit plans... Read More »
A vaccine contract potentially worth as much as $31 million was recently awarded to the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), to counteract the bat-borne Nipah virus.
Nipah is a highly virulent disease, with a fatality rate that, according... Read More »
As the political situation in Venezuela
deteriorates and a humanitarian crisis blooms, health experts warn that
epidemics could push beyond the nation’s borders and potentially bring a
hemisphere-wide health emergency.
Such were the conclusions of a review published
in a recent edition of The... Read More »
Smallpox, although eradicated, has joined the growing list of potential biosecurity threats, according to experts, who say preparedness for the possible return of the virus should be prioritized around the world.
Smallpox, a contagious, disfiguring and often deadly disease, was eradicated... Read More »
As an African swine fever outbreak has moved rapidly through China and threatens to spread through new European countries, a Kansas State University researcher has studied possible routes for disease transmission and introduction, including primarily through shared feed.
Megan Niederwerder, a... Read More »
Department of Defense (DOD) officials have released a summary outlining the agency's intent to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) into the future.
Critical elements of Harnessing AI to Advance Our Security and Prosperity include accelerating the delivery and adoption of AI; establishing a... Read More »
A collection of international researchers recently developed a mathematical framework to estimate the global value of investing in bacterial infection antibiotics.
Specifically, the research pertains to Staphylococcus aureus infections, a drug-resistant infection that could potentially fuel... Read More »
Scientists at the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have conducted a detailed blood sample analysis of Ebola patients that is shedding light on the roles a molecular pathway and microvesicles play in both the virus and potential treatments.
The study turned... Read More »
The Boston University global partnership CARB-X has earmarked up to $4.4 million in non-dilutive funding for the development of a new antibiotic that will target infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria.
CARB-X officials said the funds would be allocated to Recida Therapeutics, based in ... Read More »
Preclinical trials shone for a new synthetic DNA vaccine developed by the Wistar Institute this week when results published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases showed complete protection offered against the mosquito-borne Mayaro virus (MAYV).
"Although MAYV was discovered a long time ago and... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently offered an assessment regarding the Army's progression toward rebuilding readiness and implementing transformation goals by 2022.
The GAO said the analysis involved providing information on the Army's progress and challenges in readiness... Read More »
Though strides have been made in the antibiotic pipeline in the last few years, a review released in Clinical Infectious Diseases this week found that they are not enough to combat multidrug resistance.
The report is an update on progress made under the Infectious Diseases Society of America's... Read More »
A University of Kansas geologist recently determined that antibiotic-resistant microbes have spread to the remote arctic soil of Norway and could have severe implications for global human health.
The discovery -- published in the journal Environment International -- found that... Read More »
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently announced two recommendations for how the Air Force can retain aircraft maintenance personnel.
The Air Force’s largest enlisted career field is aircraft maintenance, and there are more than 100,000 active and reserve maintenance... Read More »
A new study, published in Nature Biotechnology, reveals scientists from the Broad Institute have found a way to examine any human virus more efficiently, cost-effectively and on large scales than previously known.
The CATCH method (Compact Aggregation of Targets for Comprehensive Hybridization),... Read More »
In an effort to raise health care workers’ awareness of and safety around Ebola, the Medical University of South Carolina has launched a new online training program.
The simulation seeks to train health care workers about the potential tolls the disease could take on a population and warns... Read More »
An international effort has created a new model for the identification and study of hosts critical to the spread of infectious diseases.
Such hosts are known as superspreaders, but their superpower is their role in epidemics. Not every infected person has the same potential to damage. Take the... Read More »
The U.S. Army recently awarded Lockheed Martin an $18 million Prototype Project Agreement to design, develop and test a cyber/electronic warfare podded system for the “Air Large” component of the army’s Multi-Function Electronic Warfare family of systems program.
The agreement is part of... Read More »
Scientists may have a new means of detecting and helping tailor therapies to meet the Zika virus’s onslaught.
The technology in question utilizes optofluidic chips -- a combination of small biological samples used for detection purposes (microfluidics) and integrated optics, which use lasers... Read More »
National Institutes of Health (NIH) early-stage clinical trial findings maintain the investigational Ebola treatment mAb114 is safe, well-tolerated, and easy to administer.
Trial results published in The Lancet outlined the manner in which 18 healthy adults received mAb114 as part of a May 2018... Read More »
Medical breakthroughs and advances in public health systems have enabled countries to contain the effects of infectious diseases, but these gains are tempered by insecurities from forces in economics, globalization, and synthetic biology.
That was the takeaway from The Global Risks Report... Read More »
A group of Sandia National Laboratories researchers, social-behavioral scientists, and computational modelers recently completed a program designed to assess extremist group interactions and behaviors.
The purpose of “Mustang,” a two-year effort, stemmed from the goal of informing U.S. and... Read More »
An investigational Ebola treatment -- mAb114 -- recently passed an early-stage clinical trial without incident, according to a study published in The Lancet.
MaB114 is a monoclonal antibody developed by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Vaccine Research Center... Read More »
The Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is partnering with medical isotope producers to enhance nuclear explosion monitoring initiatives.
The collaboration involves monitor installation to lend greater insight regarding emission levels and timing. The endeavor... Read More »
In recent years, India and the nations of Europe have poured a record amount of funding into research and development surrounding neglected diseases, reaching more than $3.5 billion in 2017, according to the annual G-FINDER report.
The G-FINDER report -- a survey of R&D funding for neglected... Read More »
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) officials have unveiled an initiative designed to afford first responders and warfighters an opportunity to test their skill set in subterranean environments.
DARPA officials said in April nine teams will participate in the SubT Integration... Read More »
The possibilities of an experimental tuberculosis (TB) vaccine reached a new stage this month, as researchers at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine Center for Vaccine Development began phase 1 human clinical trials.
The new drug is currently called ID93 and has a unique,... Read More »
The joint U.S.-U.K. Swarm and Search AI Challenge: 2019 Fire Hack challenges research teams to discover ways unmanned aerial systems can be used in search and rescue missions.
The challenge is sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), the United Kingdom Defence Science and... Read More »
An array of global health entities have joined forces to aid the process of developing epidemic responsive vaccines while also, demonstrating safety, efficacy and deployment preparedness.
University of Queensland officials said the institution has partnered with
the World Health... Read More »
A type of mosquito known to transmit malaria has been detected in Ethiopia for the first time, crossing from the Middle East, India, and China, putting more people at risk for malaria in new regions.
A Baylor University study identified the mosquito, led by Tamar Carter, assistant professor of... Read More »
With the recent completion of their program by Kansas State University (KSU) students, the Biosecurity Research Institute is actively seeking new applicants for its Transboundary Animal Disease (TAD) fellowship.
The next round of opportunities is now being offered for summer 2019 and an... Read More »
The Madariaga virus (MADV), which was initially contained primarily to animals in South and Central America, was identified in eight children in Haiti in 2015 and 2016.
The report, published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, said the symptoms in those children most closely mirrored those of... Read More »
