News
Soil Probe aids post-storm bridge assessments
In the wake of several severe storms, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is using a probe device to assess soil conditions around bridge pillars. S&T officials said hurricanes and heavy rains often cause strong, overflowing river currents that can... Read More »
CBP expects extended El Paso processing times
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) El Paso Field Office officials are advising travelers of potential border processing delays in the wake of recent personnel adjustments related to the caravan. CBP officials said a large number of officers from the El Paso, Santa Teresa, and Tornillo ports of... Read More »
Healthcare professionals gather to explore research against drug-resistant bacteria
A workshop hosted by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America assembled in Baltimore, Md., this week to address the overuse of antimicrobials and to determine the best course for combating drug-resistant bacteria. The Antimicrobial Stewardship Research Workshop was based on the genuine... Read More »
Senators urge Homeland Security subcommittee to strength security at places of worship
U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) recently sent a letter to the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security urging funding to strengthen security at places of worship. The senators asked the committee to maintain the... Read More »
Congress passes bill to create new Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
The U.S. House of Representatives advanced legislation this week to create the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The bill, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act (H.R. 3359), would reorganize DHS’... Read More »
Combat fighter to gain anti-jam receiver
The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (USAF AFLCMC) has selected Rockwell Collins to provide combat fighter aircraft with Digital GPS Anti-Jam Receivers (DIGAR). DIGAR receivers will bring highly-reliable navigation for Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve F-16 aircraft operating in... Read More »
Survey examines antibiotic resistance concerns
A survey commissioned by the public education and advocacy group Research!America has determined Americans deem antibiotic resistance as a public health problem with a myriad of treatment implications. Research!America officials said 65 percent of survey respondents consider antibiotic... Read More »
FDA approves combination Ebola fingerstick test with battery-operated reader
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the first single-use fingerstick tests for Ebola virus detection, complete with a portable reader system more easily used outside of labs. While this is the second fingerstick test made... Read More »Project to develop new ground-based weapons
Operational Fires (OpFires), a joint program between the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the U.S. Army, will soon launch with a goal of developing and demonstrating an innovative, mobile ground-launched system. The system allows hypersonic boost glide weapons to penetrate... Read More »
NATO scientists develop new bomb-detecting devices
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) recently announced the development of three new technologies designed to detect improvised explosive devices (IEDs) as part of its Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Program. The three technologies -- a semi-autonomous robot for detection of mines... Read More »
DHS awards funds to aid cybersecurity control investment decisions
Two universities have received a combined $1,272,320 from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) to improve cybersecurity control investment decisions. The University of California, San Diego was awarded $1,045,015 earmarked development of threat... Read More »
VaxArray seeks to improve potency testing on measles, rubella vaccines
With support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, InDevR is seeking to improve potency testing for its VaxArray platform in regards to measles and rubella vaccines. The result, they hope, will be a quicker delivery of vaccines to market and lower production costs, which has proven to be... Read More »
Laredo director of field operations wins DHS Secretary’s Award
David P. Higgerson, director of field operations at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Laredo Field Office recently was awarded the Secretary’s Meritorious Service Silver Medal 2018 from the Department of Homeland Security. The award honors exceptional individual service or... Read More »
Massachusetts first responders participate in largest ever security training exercise
Massachusetts State Police, the US Coast Guard, Massachusetts National Guard, local police and fire departments, and federal public safety officials all participated in the largest homeland security training exercise ever conducted in the state last week. The training exercise is designed to... Read More »
Trump proclaims November as Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Month
President Donald Trump recently proclaimed November as Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Month to keep infrastructure and communities safe and to build awareness and appreciation of critical infrastructure. Critical infrastructure is defined as infrastructure that is vital to... Read More »
November threat report reveals ‘Taliban 5’ appointed to terrorist organization’s political office in Qatar
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, released this week the latest Terror Threat Snapshot, which highlights threats the nation, the West and the world face from ISIS and other Islamist terrorists. The report highlighted that five senior members of the... Read More »
Sandia National Laboratories utilizes wind tunnel, laser diagnostics to push boundaries of flight
Sandia National Laboratories is pushing U.S. development of autonomous hypersonic aircraft, using a unique wind tunnel and advanced laser diagnostic technology to get there. The goal is to advance aircraft past five times the speed of sound. It is a top national defense priority, and as such, a... Read More »
HHS officials reaffirm support for Global Health Security Agenda
Officials from the U.S. Health and Human Services Department attended the Fifth Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) Ministerial Meeting in Indonesia this week to reaffirm U.S. support for the initiative and commit additional funding. GHSA, which launched in 2014, is a worldwide effort to... Read More »
Researchers examine antibiotics resistance threat
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is funding a broad research effort designed to assess elements surrounding the growing threat of antibiotic resistance. Officials said the CDC recently awarded contracts to Amy Pruden and Marc Edwards, professors in the Charles Edward Via, Jr. Department of... Read More »
New device aids smuggling vehicle stop
El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents assigned to the Calexico Station recently used a new vehicle immobilization device known as the Grappler to stop a smuggling vehicle. Authorities said the immobilization effort, the first recorded within the United States Border Patrol using the device,... Read More »
Lockheed Martin adapts new radar system with unmanned aerostat
Lockheed Martin’s modern Telephonics RDR-1700B -- an advanced radar system -- was successfully integrated onto a 74K aerostat this week, expanding the capabilities of the unmanned aircraft. That aerostat floats, tethered, over a vast array of terrains, utilizing wide-area communications and... Read More »
CBP expanding its Los Angeles Global Entry Enrollment Center
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently announced it would be expanding and relocating its Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Global Entry Enrollment Center. The center’s improvements will double the number of applicants processed by allowing CBP officers to conduct up to 10... Read More »
Infectious Disease Society of America urges support for Global Health Security Agenda
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) is asking the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to increase its support of the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA). The GHSA, launched following the West Africa Ebola outbreak in 2013, is focused on pandemic prevention. It helps... Read More »
BMT curriculum changes target readiness, core values
Air Force officials announced recent changes to the Basic Military Training (BMT) curriculum focus on readiness and lethality, Airmanship, fitness, and the warrior ethos. The modifications, which began Sept. 4, will transform trainees into more “combat ready Airmen.” “The future of BMT... Read More »
Shorter treatment time possible for pulmonary tuberculosis
A study published in Nature Medicine this week revealed that nearly half of tuberculosis (TB) diagnosed patients each year could potentially be cured with treatments shorter than those recommended. Specifically, the study examined three TB trials previously thought to disprove the efficacy of... Read More »
GAO makes recommendations to DOD on inspections of ammunition storage sites
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) made several recommendations to the Department of Defense on how security inspections of locations that store Security Risk Category (SRC I) ammunition are done in accordance with policy. The DOD maintains stockpiles of SRC I ammunition—which... Read More »
GAO assisting nuclear arsenal budget estimate prep
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is assisting the Departments of Defense and Energy in updating 10-year nuclear arsenal cost estimates and reporting them to Congress. GAO officials said an essential element of the effort involves capturing fundamental programmatic changes in nuclear... Read More »
USC researchers discover biomarkers linked to Zika-related birth defects
The possibility of early prenatal screening for and enhanced understanding of the link between Zika infection and fetal abnormalities may have grown, with a University of Southern California (USC) discovery of birth defect-associated biomarkers. Publishing their findings in the Journal of... Read More »
Raytheon’s GPS control system fends off cybersecurity challenges
Raytheon is pressing forward on a GPS Next-Generation Operational Control System (GPS OCX) in time for the launch of GPS III next month, and initial test data indicates huge successes against cybersecurity threats and data corruption. In all tests so far, the system has blocked the broadcast of... Read More »
New technology better detects drones
A camera combined with machine learning is assisting Sandia National Laboratories and the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) create more precise drone detection capability than possible with visuals alone. Acoustic, radio or thermal detection of drones... Read More »
Tyndall AFB to resume missions after Hurricane Michael damage
After a month-long recovery from Hurricane Michael, Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City, Fla., will resume operations with many key missions returning, following a U.S. Air Force announcement made last week. Among the units that will resume operations at Tyndall AFB are the 601st Air Force... Read More »
National Nuclear Security Administration releases annual Stockpile Stewardship, Nuclear Nonproliferation report
The Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) recently released its annual reports outlining its efforts to maintain the U.S. nuclear stockpile and prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. “The Trump Administration’s 2018 Nuclear Posture Review sets a clear... Read More »
Report emphasizes measles severity, vaccination importance
A report released last week in Open Forum Infectious Diseases highlighted the importance of maintaining high measles vaccination coverage to protect those with compromised immune systems. The report detailed a circumstance in which a 26-year-old man receiving leukemia treatment for leukemia went... Read More »
Zika anchored to Americas through wild monkeys
Though mosquitoes are the feared spreader of Zika virus in the Americas, researchers recently said that it is wild monkeys passing the disease to them, and guaranteeing its staying power. Published in Scientific Reports, the collaborative effort from researchers of the University of Texas... Read More »