Research
The nation’s biodefense response to emerging diseases and outbreaks is on an endless loop that, without a proper foundation, is not allowing for progressive countermeasure operations, according to Merck Pharmaceuticals Executive Director Julie Gerberding, former director of the Centers for... Read More »
Soligenix, Inc. will be presenting results from its ricin toxin vaccine (RiVax) development program at the 20th Annual Conference on Vaccine Research next week
RiVax is a proprietary vaccine candidate used for the prevention of ricin toxin exposure that utilizes an antigen devoid of ricin... Read More »
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons’ (OPCW) Executive Council recently reconvened to further discuss allegations that the Syrian regime, led by President Bashar al-Assad, used chemical weapons on its own people in southern Idlib, Syria.
On April 4, a chemical weapons... Read More »
Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai recently used the dengue virus as a model to identify the signaling pathway used to initiate an immune response in the body and how the virus counteracts that mechanism to evade immune detection.
"Previous studies have shown that human... Read More »
Researchers from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) recently developed a capsule that may help prevent malaria infections and protect patients for up to two weeks.
The capsule was recently tested in swine... Read More »
A team of researchers from the United States and Uganda recently identified a Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)-like coronavirus, called PDF-2180, in a bat in Uganda which the researchers said gives evidence that similar coronaviruses originate in bats.
In laboratory testing, the... Read More »
The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) was recently named champion of the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (NCCDC), defeating nine other universities in a simulated cyber attack scenario.
Participants were tasked with securing a multi-site retail corporation with 160... Read More »
According to a recent study of nearly 5,000 Latin American-born Los Angeles County residents, approximately 1.24 percent tested positive for Chagas disease, which can cause life-threatening conditions in the heart if not properly treated.
The study was coordinated by the Center for Excellence... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) new developmental field-deployable, chemical warfare agent-scrubbing system successfully demonstrated that it can safely neutralize more than 99.9999 percent of toxic chemicals simulating sarin, soman, and mustard agents from soil without... Read More »
A research team from Harvard Medical School recently revealed how the body’s immune system responds to the presence of anthrax spores.
Anthrax bacterium, called Bacillus anthracis, was used as a weaponized chemical agent in 2001, when a series of letters coated in the chemical agent were sent... Read More »
A group of leading medical researchers recently wrote an article, cautioning that the number of newly-trained infectious disease physicians will not match future needs posed by emerging diseases or the expected increase in resistant microbes.
The group includes Rochelle Walensky of Harvard... Read More »
According to a recent report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, combating the next infectious disease epidemic will rely on strengthening clinical research programs on investigational therapeutics and vaccines in developing countries prior to the next epidemic... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through its Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), recently entered into an $8.9 million agreement with Tarrytown, New York-based Siemens Healthineers to develop a new diagnostic test for Zika virus.
Rick... Read More »
According to a recent study conducted by the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston and the Instituto Evandro Chagas at the Ministry of Health in Brazil, the first live, attenuated Zika virus vaccine protected mice subjects against infection after just a single dose.
"We chose to... Read More »
A coalition of international health institutes and organizations will soon be launching a large clinical trial of Ebola vaccine candidates to identify proper regimens that could prevent a future outbreak of the deadly disease.
The French National Institute of Health and Medicine Research... Read More »
A research team at Rutgers University recently determined the three-dimensional structure of the target of the anti-tuberculosis drug rifampin and discovered a new class of drugs that could potentially kill multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (TB) bacteria.
Rifampin has been used as an anti-TB... Read More »
Battelle recently announced it has entered into a research and development agreement with Nanotherapeutics Inc. to expedite the creation of new medical countermeasures for deployed military forces facing a variety of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) threats.
The agreement... Read More »
According to a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health, a monoclonal antibody treatment, MR191-N, successfully protected nonhuman primates against both the Marburg and Ravn viruses even when administered five days after infection.
The study was conducted by the University of Texas... Read More »
According to a recent study conducted by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, individuals previously infected with West Nile virus or dengue fever may carry an increased risk of complications should they become infected with Zika virus.
In recent years, Zika virus has spread... Read More »
Officials from the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense (JPEO-CBD) and the Army Material Command (AMC) recently called on the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) to provide assistance to increase efficiencies and reduce costs in the nation’s... Read More »
The Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) recently announced an immediate investment of $24 million and up to $24 million in additional, milestone-based payments over three years to accelerate the development of new antibiotics and diagnostics to treat... Read More »
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) recently came out in favor of the bipartisan Reinvigorating Antibiotics and Diagnostic Innovation (READI) Act, which provides a new tax credit for new antibiotics that treat serious or life-threatening infections and addresses unmet medical needs... Read More »
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), an organization under the direction of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), recently began its Phase 2/2b VRC 705 clinical trial, testing an experimental DNA vaccine designed to protect against Zika virus infection.
Zika... Read More »
Officials at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) recently outlined the organization's efforts to combat tuberculosis (TB), one of the world's most serious infectious diseases.
In a joint statement, NIAID Director Anthony Fauci and other NIAID officials said the... Read More »
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently conducted a report surveying the overseas inventory of Department of Defense (DOD) security cooperation, along with various State Department assistance efforts in order to determine if any redundancies exist.
Since the Sept. 11, 2001... Read More »
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched a new strategic plan last week to improve the prevention, surveillance, and emergency response to infectious diseases on the continent.
Prior to its approval, the plan was reviewed by Africa CDC experts, the advisory and... Read More »
A team of researchers at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine recently published their initial findings of an early-stage vaccine to protect against Zika virus infection.
With new funding, the team is preparing to move forward with non-human primate testing and, eventually,... Read More »
According to a recent study led by the University of Florida and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, most cases of dengue fever occur very close to an individual’s home and are transmitted from the same family of mosquitoes.
Findings from the study were published in the March... Read More »
A group of Sandia National Laboratory researchers recently developed a smartphone-controlled, battery-operated diagnostic device that can detect Zika virus, dengue fever, and chikungunya in under 30 minutes.
The device costs approximately $100 and weighs under one pound.
Contemporary... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently released two requests for proposals (RFPs) to award multiple contracts, along with initial task orders, for the design and construction of wall prototypes to be used in President Trump’s proposed border wall with Mexico.
The President’s... Read More »
The Seattle-based Mobile Performance Management software company, NetMotion Software, recently released the world’s first mobile intelligence and analytics solution that captures network and security data across any wireless network, called Diagnostics 4.0.
NetMotion said the software gives... Read More »
Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) recently discovered that a naturally-produced enzyme called 25-hydroxycholestrol (25HC) protects animals against Zika virus infection and can be manufactured to create compounds against a broad range of viruses.
Research for this... Read More »
According to a recent study at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, Zika virus and dengue fever are so closely related to one another that the body’s immune system treats Zika like another version of dengue.
The researchers said the immune response showed that pre-existing... Read More »
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently updated its epidemiological information to its website regarding Zika virus, which includes implications to the blood and tissue collection community.
The new information includes data about areas with potential increased risk... Read More »
During a recent Stanford University School of Medicine study, a combination of two cancer drugs inhibited both dengue fever and Ebola virus infections in mice subjects, despite the viruses being so different from one another.
Results of the study were published in the Feb. 27 issue of the... Read More »
