Global organizations seek screening standards for DNA synthesis technologies
DNA synthesis technologies— a cornerstone of life sciences research and biotechnology development—are becoming more advanced and commercially available. Although much of this technology is used for clinical diagnosis and treatment, its potential exploitation may lead to ominous biological... Read More »
Bill would grant subpoena power to CISA on cybersecurity
A bill that would grant subpoena authority to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) in certain cases was approved by the House Committee on Homeland Security Wednesday. The Cybersecurity Vulnerability Identification and Notification Act (H.R. 5680), introduced by Rep. Jim... Read More »
House Homeland Security committee advances three cybersecurity bills
The House Homeland Security Committee advanced three bills designed to improve cybersecurity. The three bills are the CISA Director Reform Act (H.R. 5679), introduced by Rep. John Katko (R-NY); the Transportation Security Transparency Improvement Act CISA Director Reform Act (H.R. 5670), ... Read More »
DARPA demonstrates autonomous vehicles used to conduct raids
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) OFFensive Swarm-Enabled Tactics (OFFSET) program recently demonstrated the use of autonomous air and ground vehicles to raid an urban area. During the demonstration, the autonomous vehicles were deployed to conduct the DARPA-designed... Read More »
Walter Reed researchers turn to tobacco mosaic virus as foundation for malaria vaccine
Scientists from the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research turned to an old plant virus -- the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) -- as the foundation for a new research effort: a second-generation malaria vaccine candidate. Demonstrated in the Proceedings of the National Academy Sciences, the... Read More »
WHO, World Economic Forum set up public-private organization to drive supply chain’s coronavirus response
With those infected by the novel coronavirus – 2019-nCoV – now topping 7,000, the World Health Organization (WHO) and World Economic Forum have jointly created a public-private collaboration known as the Pandemic Supply Chain Network (PSCN) to drive the emergency supply chain. The network... Read More »
Senators call for information and strategy on coronavirus outbreak
Faced with five confirmed cases and dozens of potential infections being traced across the U.S., senators from both parties have called on the federal government for updates and strategies for how to contain the recent outbreak of coronavirus. For some, the concern lay with the Department of... Read More »
Rep. Buchanan calls for Wuhan coronavirus to be declared public health emergency
Though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) continue to call risk to Americans by the Wuhan coronavirus -- 2019-nCoV -- low, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) became the latest federal lawmaker this week to call for a public health... Read More »
WHO to dispatch international experts to assist China with coronavirus outbreak
As the outbreak of novel coronavirus -- 2019-nCoV -- continues unabated, a meeting of top officials from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the People’s Republic of China this week aimed to lockdown next steps for a unified assault on the virus. The biggest news to come out of the meeting... Read More »
Pennsylvania Senate bills would provide benefits for fire, emergency workers
The Pennsylvania State Senate approved two bills this week that would provide financial benefits for fire and emergency management services (EMS) workers. The bills focus on easing the financial pressures faced by fire and EMS companies due to the increasing costs of equipment and training.... Read More »
Researchers say Bangkok, Hong Kong, and Taipei are most at-risk for coronavirus
Researchers at the University of Southampton in England have identified areas in China and around the world that are considered high-risk from the spread of the coronavirus. The university’s WorldPop research team found that Bangkok, Thailand, is most at risk from a global spread of the... Read More »
Raytheon secures Air Force missile warning contract
Raytheon Company has secured a five-year, $197 million contract Air Force contract to aid the branch in modernizing its missile warning architecture. The effort involves developing the Future Operationally Resilient Ground Evolution (FORGE) Mission Data Processing Application Framework (MDPAF),... Read More »
Sen. Markey urges Trump to reestablish global health “czar” position following coronavirus outbreak
U.S. Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) is urging the Trump Administration to reestablish the White House global health security and biothreats directorate within the National Security Council. In 2016, after the Ebola virus emerged, the Obama administration created the global health and biothreats... Read More »
Trump signs into law bill that provides security grants for faith-based organizations
President Donald Trump signed into law a bill that provides grants to nonprofits and faith-based organizations to secure their facilities against a potential terrorist attack. The Protecting Faith-Based and Nonprofit Organizations from Terrorism Act authorizes $75 million annually for five years... Read More »