Research
A research team at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston recently discovered the mechanisms that the Zika virus uses to change the brain’s development.
A report was published in a recent issue of Stem Cell Reports.
Zika virus is typically spread through the bite of... Read More »
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) named Denise E. Zheng as the new director of CSIS’ technology policy program last week.
In her new role, Zheng will work on cyber and international security initiatives and expand into new research areas in emerging technologies... Read More »
The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) recently awarded a contract to Leidos, a global science and technology company, to support the agency’s cooperative biological engagement program (CBEP), cooperative threat reduction program (CTR), and scientific and technical engagement partnership... Read More »
Raytheon Company and Utilidata recently entered into a strategic partnership to help power utilities protect, defend, and respond to a variety of cyber threats.
"With this alliance, Raytheon will expand our presence in the critical infrastructure market by delivering next-generation,... Read More »
According to a recent paper published in the Journal of Vector-Borne & Zoonotic Diseases, common domesticated animals such as cattle, chickens, pigs, frogs, rabbits, sparrows, and goats are not carriers of the Zika virus.
The paper was authored by Kansas State University (KSU) doctoral... Read More »
Emergent Biolsolutions Inc. recently received a task order from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) for the development of monoclonal antibody therapeutics for the treatment of viral hemorrhagic fever.
The agreement consists of a 36-month base period of... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recently developed a program called the Pandemic Prevention Platform (P3) designed to stop the spread of any viral disease outbreak before it can escalate to pandemic status.
The P3 program comes after a years-long effort by DARPA in... Read More »
The Edgewood Chemical Biological Center’s (ECBC) Environmental Monitoring Laboratory (EML) recently participated in an exercise that simulated a domestic response to malathion contamination in both milk and water.
Malathion is a widely-used pesticide typically found in agriculture, residential... Read More »
A grant worth $12 million given to the National Ebola Training and Education Center (NETEC) was recently doubled to $24 million, allowing for the expansion of services for the center.
Specifically, the funds were given to the three co-leads of the NETEC, the University of Nebraska Medical... Read More »
According to a recent study conducted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a novel, gene-based investigational vaccine protected both mice and monkeys against Zika virus infection after a single dose.
The vaccine candidate was developed by researchers at the... Read More »
Investigators at the University Of Miami Miller School Of Medicine and the University of Miami Health System were awarded 12 grants totaling $13,170,784 from the Florida Department of Health’s 2016-17 Zika Research Grant Initiative.
“I am proud to announce the recipients of these important... Read More »
The governments of Germany, Japan, and Norway, along with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust, recently pledged $460 million to launch the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to combat the spread of epidemics by developing effective vaccines against known... Read More »
Elusys Therapeutics, Inc. recently received $16.35 million for completing the second delivery of ANTHIM injection for the treatment of anthrax exposure.
The funds are part of a $45 million procurement contract to provide the treatment for the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile (SNS). Elusys... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. recently received approval by a regulatory agency under the German Federal Ministry of Health for its large-scale manufacturing facility in Michigan, paving the way for the company to market its anthrax vaccine BioThrax in Germany and other countries.
Emergent said its... Read More »
The Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC), the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center, and North Carolina State University recently teamed up to develop a uniform that destroys chemical agents on contact using a type of... Read More »
Experts from 29 countries recently convened at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to prepare a safety guide for radiation exposure at security checkpoints in airports and other locations.
While ionizing radiation for human imaging has been a common practice in medicine for decades,... Read More »
Battelle, a nonprofit research and development institute, said the key to preparing for the rapidly growing threat of biological or chemical weapons is by developing countermeasures with technology that is tested against live agents.
Battelle’s recommendation was directed toward defense... Read More »
Research teams at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) and the New York State Department of Health’s Wadsworth Center recently developed a new detection test for Zika virus that is faster and more accurate than contemporary tests.
“The new diagnostic test was designed to more... Read More »
A team of scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) recently studied a new mouse model that shows how early responses of the immune system can affect the development of the Ebola virus disease (EVD).
Researchers said the model could help identify protective... Read More »
Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), along with colleague Catharine I. Paules, recently published an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association calling for continued research into the Zika virus even as individual diagnoses... Read More »
The U.S.-Israel Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation recently issued a call for proposals of next-generation first responder technologies to promote joint development ventures for first responder training and development.
"The BIRD Foundation is happy to accelerate... Read More »
Safariland, a company specializing in body armor, recently selected Honeywell’s Spectra Shield and Gold Shield ballistic composite materials to produce a thin, lightweight vest specifically designed for female law enforcement officers.
Safariland selected Honeywell’s Spectra Shield 5000... Read More »
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently awarded a grant worth $10 million to the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) to establish a new center to help combat the spread of diseases carried by mosquitos and ticks.
“With UTMB’s unparalleled... Read More »
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently awarded a $10 million grant to four Florida-based universities to collaborate on a newly-formed research center that will focus on combating diseases such as the Zika virus.
The facility, called the Southeast Regional Center of... Read More »
According to a recently published study, an experimental Ebola virus vaccine, called rVSV-ZEBOV, was highly protective against the deadly virus in a major trial that took place in Guinea.
The study was conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO), along with Guinea’s Ministry of Health,... Read More »
A research team at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai recently published two studies that identify the three-dimensional shapes of two enzymes critical to replication and survival of the Zika virus.
The first study, published in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, examined... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), working with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate, recently awarded a series of contracts for various technology initiatives related to border security.
DHS first awarded $162,302 to Tamr, a Cambridge,... Read More »
The U.S. Navy recently awarded a $32 million production contract to Raytheon Company for next-generation encryption systems to safeguard tactical military data transmissions across air, surface, subsurface and group assets.
Raytheon’s Link Level Communication Security 7M encryptor (LLC 7M)... Read More »
Soligenix, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing products to treat rare diseases, recently extended its collaboration with IDT Biologika for the manufacture of RiVax, Soligenix’s proprietary heat-stable ricin toxin vaccine.
Ricin toxin is a by-product of castor oil... Read More »
The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) recently released a study using DNA markers to discern coccobacillus Francisella bacteria to provide a means to distinguish them from the harmful F. tularensis, a virulent pathogen that causes the disease tularemia.
“This large study is particularly... Read More »
A research team at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston recently developed the first vaccine for chikungunya fever, which was made in part from an insect-specific virus that does not have any effect on people.
The new vaccine quickly produces a strong immune defense and... Read More »
Battelle, Inc.’s David Winkel was recently recognized by the Nuclear Biological and Chemical (NBC) Industry Group with the Dr. Billy Richardson Award, which recognizes young leaders who are committed to NBC-related defense initiatives.
Winkel is the third Battelle researcher overall to win... Read More »
The U.S. House Homeland Security Committee released last week a comprehensive review of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) use of intelligence to counter terrorist threats and activities.
The report, “Reviewing the Department of Homeland Security’s Intelligence Enterprise... Read More »
Bavarian Nordic A/S recently completed its enrollment of a Phase 3 clinical study designed to demonstrate non-inferiority between the company’s investigational, non-replicating smallpox vaccine called Imvamune and ACAM2000, the current U.S.-licensed and replicating smallpox vaccine.
The U.S.... Read More »
The U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) is collaborating with renowned researcher Anthony Atala, director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, on a project to help combat the effects of chemical and biological agents.
The project, called Ex Vivo Console of... Read More »