News
OPCW oversees effort to destroy more than 39,000 metric tons of chemical weapons in Russia
Hamid Ali Rao, Deputy Director-General for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), recently participated in a ceremony marking the completion of the full destruction of 39,967 metric tons of chemical weapons previously possessed by the Russian Federation. Largely... Read More »
HHS to purchase freeze dried smallpox vaccine for use by pregnant women, special populations
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced it will purchase a lyophilized, or freeze-dried, smallpox vaccine for use by women who are pregnant or nursing and for people of any age who have HIV or atopic dermatitis. The vaccine, developed by Denmark-based... Read More »
Border Patrol seizes more than $3.2 million of crystal meth at Laredo Port of Entry
More than $3.2 million in crystal meth was seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in two separate attempted smuggling incidents across the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge last week. One incident involved a 40-year-old Mexican citizen crossing the bridge from Nuevo... Read More »
HHS, FDA assisting in emergency recovery efforts in wake of Hurricane Maria
In response to the damage left by Hurricane Maria, more than 500 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) personnel were recently deployed to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to assist in medical and public health efforts. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is also... Read More »
NNSA needs to improve management of its Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation programs, GAO report says
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) needs to improve the management policy and practices of its Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation (DNN), according to a recently published report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) For its report, GAO was tasked by... Read More »RAND report recommends cooperation between US, Russia, and China to deter proliferation of hypersonic missiles
A new report by the RAND corporation recommends that the United States, Russia, and China cooperate to hinder the proliferation of hypersonic missiles to reduce the risk of strategic missile-based war. All three countries are currently developing hypersonic missile technology. Technologies such... Read More »
LLNL project uses distributed energy resources to help power grid resiliency
A new initiative aiming to utilize the benefits of distributed energy resources (DERs), such as customer-produced solar energy for restoration and recovery purposes after severe storms, was recently launched by researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). Led by LLNL... Read More »
TSA has taken steps to enhance foreign airport assessments but issues remain, GAO report says
Since 2011, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has taken steps to enhance its foreign airport assessments and air carrier inspection including aligning program resources based on risk and resolving airport access issues, according to a recently published report from the U.S.... Read More »
Bavarian Nordic to supply smallpox vaccine to US under new contract
With the awarding of a contract from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), Bavarian Nordic A/S will be the sole source for the freeze-dried IMVAMUNE smallpox vaccine to the U.S. government. The contract with BARDA, which operates as part of the U.S. Department of... Read More »
Russia completes destruction of chemical weapons
The Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü, made a statement Wednesday marking the destruction of the remainder of the chemical weapons possessed by the Russian Federation. “The completion of the verified destruction of... Read More »
Bill to reform TSA organization structure, deploy new security technology introduced in Senate
A bipartisan bill to reform the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) organizational structure and to advance new security technologies was recently introduced to the Senate by U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-SD), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Roy Blunt (R-MO), and Maria Cantwell (D-WA). The bill,... Read More »
NASS questions DHS outreach to state election officials during 2016 presidential election cycle
Following reports that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) contacted 21 chief state election officials whose election systems were targeted during the recent presidential election cycle, the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) issued a statement questioning the timing and... Read More »
Qatari officials visit UNMC to discuss biosecurity efforts ahead of 2022 World Cup
Members of the Qatar National Committee for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (NCPW) recently visited with leaders from the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) to discuss potential collaborative efforts on developing Qatar as a leader in biosecurity ahead of the 2022 World Cup. The... Read More »
Plan ready to decontaminate subways in the event of a biological attack
A plan to protect subways in the event of a chemical or biological attack is ready to be put into place and implemented, scientists say. Mark Tucker, engineer at Sandia National Laboratories, is leading a project to study how to decontaminate chemical and biological weapons attacks, such as... Read More »
Blue Campaign announces new human trafficking training initiative for aviation personnel
The Blue Campaign, the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) effort to stop human trafficking, announced Tuesday a new training program to help aviation industry personnel detect and report potential human trafficking. The training initiative utilizes an interactive online module that... Read More »
Health Department researching anthrax test that could determine infection within 15 minutes
Testing for anthrax could soon become a lot quicker, as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced it is in the midst of researching a point-of-care diagnostic test that could determine infection within 15 minutes. The test determines whether a patient has been infected with... Read More »Ebola virus uses the body’s immune system to spread throughout host, study finds
The Ebola virus uses the body’s natural defenses to speed the rate of infection and cause its lethal effects, according to a recent study conducted by researchers with the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB). The study was in collaboration with the University of Washington... Read More »
Dem. House members request briefing from Comtech CEO regarding 911 service outages
Democratic members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee recently sent a public letter to Comtech President and CEO Fred Kornberg, requesting a briefing regarding reports that company outages have prevented people from connecting with 911 operators. The letter was sent by U.S. Reps. Frank... Read More »
President Xi Jinping opens Interpol General Assembly with call for cooperation
The Interpol general assembly met this week in Beijing, China, bringing nearly 1,000 participants from 156 countries together at an event opened with a speech from Chinese President Xi Jinping. “No country can guarantee its absolute security all by itself,” Xi said. “China stands ready to... Read More »
TSA implements stronger security procedures at Clinton National Airport
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) began to implement new screening procedures for carry-on items at Clinton National Airport (LIT) this week to increase security for passengers. TSA announced the new procedures earlier this year, which require travelers to place all electronics... Read More »
Dengue antibodies shown to treat Zika infection in rodents, study finds
Antibodies taken from patients infected with dengue fever are effective in treating Zika virus infection in rodents, according to a recent study conducted by researchers from Imperial College London and the Washington University in St. Louis. Found in multiple regions throughout the world,... Read More »
CBP intercepts immigrant visa imposter at Washington-Dulles International Airport
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers stationed at the Washington-Dulles International Airport in Virginia recently intercepted an Ethiopian imposter using an immigrant visa. After arriving from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the man presented officers with a diversity immigrant visa for... Read More »
Bill to give full Pell Grants to children of fallen firefighters, EMS and law enforcement officers advanced by Senate
A bill that gives the children of fallen law enforcement officers, firefighters, and EMS workers the maximum Pell grant authorized by federal law was recently advanced by the U.S. Senate. The legislation, titled the Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship Act, was introduced by U.S. Sens. Bob... Read More »
Soligenix to support development of thermostabilized Ebola vaccine candidate
Soligenix Inc. announced this week it is the recipient of $700,000 in funding to support a research project grant for the University of Hawai’i at Manoa aimed at developing a thermostabilized Ebola vaccine. Soligenix, a biopharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes products which... Read More »PAC-3 MSE successfully intercepts missile from remote launcher in test
A Lockheed Martin PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) interceptor recently successfully intercepted a missile to complete the first ever test of an MSE from a remote launcher. The U.S. Army-led missile defense flight test took place at the Reagan Test Site at the Kwajalein Atoll in the... Read More »
DARPA seeking information on innovative drone sensing, neutralization technologies
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recently issued a Request for Information (RFI) to identify new technological components to aid its Mobile Force Protection (MFP) program in detecting and neutralizing small unmanned air system (sUAS) technologies. Rather than end-to-end... Read More »
Raytheon’s Air and Missile Defense system successfully tracks multiple missile targets
Raytheon’s Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) recently demonstrated its ability to acquire and track multiple threat-representative targets simultaneously during its third dedicated flight test held at the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii. "The speed, range,... Read More »
NNSA collaborates with South Africa’s NTP to convert its molybdenum-99 production processes to low-enriched uranium
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), in tandem with the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation’s NTP Radioisotopes SOC Ltd (NTP), recently completed conversion of its molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) production process from highly-enriched uranium (HEU), which is frequently used for... Read More »
CDC updates range maps for mosquitoes, finds their influence spreading
Three-quarters of mainland U.S. counties are now environmentally suitable for disease-transmitting mosquitoes, according to an update of models by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Two mosquito species--aedes aegypti and aedes albopictus--can survive for at least part of the... Read More »
Bristol Police use Argon Electronics’ CBRN response simulators in HazMat training
Police in Bristol, England recently used chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) response training simulators from Argon Electronics for a hazardous material (HazMat) training exercise. The exercise required participants to provide security for a half-marathon event. While the... Read More »
More time spent outside linked to higher likelihood of Zika infection
A recent study by a Northeastern University associate research scientist found that increased time spent outdoors correlated to a higher risk for Zika infection. The researcher, Marco Ajelli, surveyed residents of the Miami-Dade area and found that while the majority of people spent less than... Read More »Emergent BioSolutions awards renewed five-year contract to supply chemical agent-neutralizing lotion to US military
A five-year, $171 million contract was recently awarded to Emergent BioSolutions by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to supply the company’s Reactive Skin Decontamination Lotion kit (RSDL), which protects human skin from chemical warfare agents and the T-2 toxin, for use by all branches of... Read More »
NTI, World Economic Forum host roundtable discussion on biological threats posed by advances in technology
A roundtable discussion on the current landscape of biological risks posed by technology advancement in the fourth industrial revolution was recently hosted in New York City by the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and the World Economic Forum (WEF). While the first industrial revolution centered... Read More »
NNSA assists in removal of all highly-enriched uranium from Kazakhstan-based reactor
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), in tandem with the Institute for Nuclear Physics (INP) of Almaty, Kazakhstan recently announced that the last remaining stores of highly-enriched uranium (HEU) have been repatriated from the institute’s VVR-K reactor. In total, more than... Read More »