Research
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) backed efforts at developing a "variant-proof" COVID-19 vaccine this week, announcing that it will provide up to $19.3 million to an international consortium consisting of Bharat Biotech International Ltd., the University of Sydney and... Read More »
As part of a pandemic preparedness push, the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced this week that it chose Biobot Analytics to handle an expansion of the National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS).
While not a household name, the NWSS works with public... Read More »
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials detailed the recent interception of a rare pest discovered in a shipment of fresh fruit at the Pharr International Bridge in Pharr, Texas.
“Our agriculture specialists help protect American agriculture and contribute to the nation’s economic... Read More »
A group of legislators recently introduced legislation that would protect domestic technology research from being used by Chinese entities to benefit the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) led colleagues U.S. Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Mike... Read More »
During the last week in April, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) hosted the JamX 22 exercise to further resilience to signal jamming threats for federal and first responders.... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, announced Tuesday it had partnered with a number of industry and academic organizations to advance next-gen diagnostics to detect respiratory viruses in a single test.... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) National Urban Security Technology Laboratory (NUSTL) recently issued a vehicle extrication tools request for information (RFI).
The agency is seeking commercially available vehicle extrication tools... Read More »
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is slated to evaluate a Biennial Radiological Emergency Preparedness Exercise, focusing on Pennsylvania and Maryland responses.
The assessment specifically involved communities around the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station. The effort calls for FEMA... Read More »
The U.S. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) celebrated the completion of the initial design and construction last week for a new ApiJect Technology Development Center that promises greater manufacturing capacity for prefilled injectors used to administer vaccines... Read More »
A global, Phase 3 trial of approximately 20,000 older adult volunteers for the Bavarian Nordic A/S MVA-BN RSV vaccine candidate began this week and is expected to produce results by mid-2023.
The randomized, double-blind test will gather those aged 60 years and older in both the United States... Read More »
New clinical data from Moderna, Inc. this week showed that a month after using a bivalent COVID-19 booster candidate, mRNA-1273.211, superior vaccination efficacy was maintained against all variants of concern, including Beta, Delta, and Omicron.
These results stemmed from 50 µg booster doses,... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Young Kim (R-CA) recently introduced the Improving Federal Investigations of Organized Retail Crime Act (H.R. 7499), a bipartisan bill to improve how law enforcement handles organized retail crime.
According to a 2019 report by the Retail Industry Leaders Association and Buy Safe... Read More »
Utilizing its synthetic, CD8+ T cell Adaptive Vaccine platform, Emergex Vaccines Holding Ltd. began preclinical development last week of a new medical countermeasure against tularemia.
Tularemia is caused by francisella tularensis, an exceptionally virulent intracellular bacterial pathogen. The... Read More »
Due to discussions between the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. over pre-exposure prophylactic use, the FDA will extend the review of a Biologics License Application (BLA) for REGEN-COV as a COVID-19 treatment for three months.
Regeneron seeks to use... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced a bill this week to fund research on the COVID-19 impacts on mental health and brain function.
“The pandemic showed us the need to prioritize mental health and support those suffering,” Cassidy... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recently detailed the second successful flight test of the Lockheed Martin Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC).
"This Lockheed Martin HAWC flight test successfully demonstrated a second design that will allow our warfighters to... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently joined two additional agencies in hosting a Regional Smuggling Forum and Roundtable event in Mexico City.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL)... Read More »
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) this week awarded four grants totaling approximately $4.3 million of investment over the first year alone to launch new Tuberculosis Research Advancement Centers (TRACs) across the country.
These grants will last five years,... Read More »
A supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for Roche’s Actemra/RoActemra intravenous treatment for COVID-19 cases among hospitalized patients was accepted by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week and will benefit from priority review.
If approved, the drug... Read More »
Updates are on the way for the existing perimeter intrusion detection and assessment system (PIDAS) and other security features at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee, care of a $100 million endeavor from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).
Groundbreaking for the... Read More »
Within 10 years, the World Health Organization (WHO) sees a path to increase the use of and access to genomic surveillance for monitoring and analyzing pathogens through a strategy targeting inequities and leveraging existing capacities.
Genomic surveillance is a process whereby pathogens are... Read More »
The life of N95 masks – a component in fighting the spread of COVID-19 – may be extendable for far longer than initially thought with the use of ultraviolet light, according to recent research from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
In a study published in the Journal... Read More »
Together, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and United States Department of Energy (DOE) recently warned that action is needed to counter the ongoing threat of state-sponsored Russian cyber operations to the U.S. energy sector and... Read More »
Interim data emerged this week from a Phase 2/3 trial of Moderna, Inc.’s mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccine on children between 6 months and 6 years old, demonstrating efficacy similar to usage on adults and with a generally well-tolerated profile.
The KidCOVE trial provided participants with two 25... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recently launched a space-based manufacturing exploration initiative targeting future space structure production on-orbit without volume constraints.
The agency's Novel Orbital Moon Manufacturing, Materials, and Mass Efficient Design (NOM4D)... Read More »
In a study conducted on non-human primates, Soligenix, Inc.’s CiVax COVID-19 booster vaccine candidate produced increased neutralizing antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 and its Delta Omicron variants.
The results, released last week, showed the heat-stable vaccine candidate generated as much... Read More »
The more detail provided on a disease, the better for doctors to pursue proper treatment, and in that regard, Roche and its subsidiary TIB Molbiol announced this week that they have tests capable of identifying between the Delta variant and various Omicron subvariants of SARS-CoV-2.
These tests... Read More »
With an eye on potential vaccine development, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) announced this week that it will expand its partnership with Bangladesh’s icddr,b for a study into survivors of the deadly Nipah virus.
This support will take the form of nearly $1 million... Read More »
The Director of National Intelligence (DNI) research and development arm, the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), has initiated the Biometric Recognition & Identification at Altitude and Range (BRIAR) program.
“National security technologies must accurately and reliably... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently released a report that seeks to assess efforts to maximize preventing, detecting, and responding to potential domestic violent extremism threats.
“Every day, the more than 250,000 dedicated public servants at DHS work to ensure the safety... Read More »
Dosing officially began last week in a Phase 2 trial of Moderna’s COVID-19 Omicron variant-specific, bivalent booster vaccine candidate.
Known currently as mRNA-1273.214, the candidate combines another Omicron booster candidate with Moderna’s official COVID-19 vaccine, mRNA-1273.
"We are... Read More »
In a new report released this week, the nonprofit Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) called out gaps in states’ emergency response capabilities and advocated for urgent investment in a new public health system.
The report, Ready or Not 2022: Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases,... Read More »
The Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine (AUCVM) has been awarded a five-year, $24 million Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) canine development contract.
“Canines are an important tool in support of the S&T mission to prevent and respond... Read More »
Researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) began a clinical trial this week investigating rare but potentially serious systemic allergic reactions to COVID-19 mRNA vaccines.
“People who experienced an allergic reaction after receiving a COVID-19 mRNA... Read More »
Efforts are underway to study the possibilities of oral smallpox treatment TPOXX as a post-exposure prophylactic (PEP), with the announcement of clinical trials by SIGA Technologies, Inc. last week.
These trials will support a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) label expansion for the drug,... Read More »
