News
Two Los Alamos researchers recognized for contributions to nuclear safeguards
The Institute of Nuclear Materials Management (INMM) recently recognized Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) researchers Nancy Jo Nicholas and Martyn Swinhoe for their contributions to the nuclear safeguards profession at its 58th annual meeting in Indian Wells, California. Nicholas, who... Read More »
GAO report seeks to aid lawmakers weighing DOD’s development, manufacturing of medical countermeasures
In a recent U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report to Congress, GAO identified additional information that lawmakers may find useful as they consider the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DOD) public-private partnership for its advanced development and manufacturing (ADM) facility. ADM... Read More »
New study focuses on growing enzymes on International Space Station to help develop nerve agent antidotes
The International Space Station’s (ISS) microgravity environment could provide a means of improving the understanding of toxic nerve agents, such as sarin and VX, and how to combat them, according to a researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-supported Countermeasures Against... Read More »
IU researcher awarded two grants for work in abating mosquito-borne illnesses
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) recently awarded two multi-year grants to Molly Duman Scheel, associate professor of medical and molecular genetics at the Indiana University School of Medicine-South Bend, to assist her work in abating mosquito-borne illnesses in order to keep military... Read More »
McAuliffe highlights successes of his state-based cybersecurity initiative at NGA meeting
At a recent meeting of the National Governors Association (NGA), outgoing NGA Chair Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D-VA) provided an update to his year-long initiative on strengthening state cybersecurity defenses. Beginning in 2016, McAuliffe launched a project, titled Meet the Threat: States Confront... Read More »DynCorp’s Von Thaer appointed president and CEO of Battelle
Nonprofit science and technology development company Battelle has a new head as of last week, following the appointment of Lewis Von Thaer as the company’s president and CEO. Von Thaer comes to the company from DynCorp International, where had had served as CEO since July 2015. He is... Read More »
House Intel Committee unanimously passes FY2018 Intelligence Authorization Act
By a unanimous voice vote, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence last week sent the FY2018 Intelligence Authorization Act to the U.S. House of Representatives for consideration. While funding for the bill was slightly lower than in the Trump Administration’s FY2018 budget... Read More »
DHS presents plan to educate nuclear forensic experts for witness testimony to international partners
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) recently participated in the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT) workshop in Karlsruhe, Germany, where DHS personnel delivered a presentation on preparing U.S. scientists to serve as expert... Read More »
Zika vaccine candidates shown to protect mice fetuses from infection, birth defects
Two Zika virus vaccine candidates were shown to protect the developing fetus of female mice from infection and associated birth defects, according to a recent study conducted by the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB). The findings, which were published in a recent issue of... Read More »
Researchers discover how influenza virus repackages genetic material to create new strains
A recent discovery made by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) Schools of the Health Sciences revealed a loophole in which the influenza virus packages its genetic material to give rise to new strains of the flu. The research, detailed in a recent issue of the journal Nucleic... Read More »
Regional medical professionals convene for Ebola treatment, preparedness summit at Emory University
More than 135 researchers, representing 10 medical centers designated by the U.S. government as a Regional Ebola and other Special Pathogen Treatment Center (RESPTC), recently convened at the National Ebola Treatment and Education Center (NETEC) at Emory University in Atlanta for a two-day event to... Read More »
Rep. McSally introduces bill to reimburse border states that incarcerate ‘criminal illegal aliens’
In response to fiscal concerns raised by a number of sheriffs in Arizona, U.S. Rep. Martha McSally (R-AZ) recently introduced legislation that would reauthorize a program to reimburse state and local governments for incarcerating undocumented immigrants who commit crimes in the United States.... Read More »
OPCW course educates chemists on controlled chemical agent analysis
Fifteen analytical chemists representing Latin American and Caribbean member states to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), recently convened at the Laboratory for the Verification of Chemical Weapons (LAVEMA) in Madrid, Span for a two-week training course on the analysis of controlled chemical... Read More »
Kentucky, Arkansas to opt-in to nationwide public safety broadband network for first responders
The states of Kentucky and Arkansas recently announced that they will become the third and fourth states, respectively, to opt-in to the nationwide public safety broadband network currently being developed by the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) and AT&T. As part of the agreement,... Read More »
Sen. McCaskill seeks answers regarding multiple Electronic Immigration System errors
In the wake of reports that the Electronic Immigration System (ELIS) issued more than 20,000 green cards in error, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) sent a letter to Acting U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director James McCament, requesting information regarding his department’s... Read More »
CBP officers seize 195 pounds of cocaine from fishing boat along Miami River
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents recently made a large seizure of cocaine after intercepting a fishing vessel along the Miami River. The incident began as CBP agents, along with one Border Patrol agent, boarded the vessel to process four crew members and their cargo as they... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions to acquire Sanofi’s smallpox vaccine business
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. said on Friday it plans to acquire Sanofi’s ACAM2000 business, the only vaccine licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for active immunization against smallpox, in an all-cash transaction totaling up to $125 million. ACAM2000 is the primary smallpox... Read More »
San Diego area Border Patrol agents seize more than $560k worth of illicit narcotics in single traffic stop
Border Patrol agents stationed along Interstate 5 near San Clemente, California recently made a seizure approximately 58 pounds of illicit narcotics during a single traffic stop. The incident began as agents stopped a 2006 Chevrolet Equinox SUV driven by a 45-year old U.S. citizen. During... Read More »
Interpol emphasizes importance of actionable intelligence for global police forces ahead of international meeting on defeating ISIS
Prior to an international conference of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) Secretary General Jürgen Stock emphasized the need for military successes to be translated into actionable intelligence for global police forces. The information... Read More »
Sen. Tester urges CBP Commissioner to address reports of inoperable communication equipment
Following reports that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents have been working with inoperable radios and associated communications equipment, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) sent a letter to Acting CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan, asking if his department was doing enough to ensure that CBP... Read More »
IDSA criticizes repeal of Prevention and Public Health Fund
In response to the recent Senate introduction of the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017, which would effectively repeal the Prevention and Public Health Fund in FY2018, the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) came out strongly against the legislation, citing the detrimental effects... Read More »
Wyoming becomes 2nd state to opt-in for FirstNet’s public safety broadband network
Gov. Matthew Mead (R-WY) recently announced that Wyoming will be the second state in America to opt-in to the nationwide public safety broadband network for first responders, which is being developed by the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) and AT&T. As part of the agreement,... Read More »
NIH awards $12 million to Tulane University for preclinical research for Lassa virus treatment, vaccine
Tulane University was recently awarded $12 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to test a potential new drug treatment against the Lassa virus and to develop a vaccine candidate against the disease. The awards were issued through NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and... Read More »
Reps. Walden, Murphy push for stronger reporting, investigation practices for pathogen incidents
U.S. Reps. Tim Murphy (R-PA) and Greg Walden (R-OR) recently sent a public letter to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), regarding the Blue Ribbon Panel’s review of the 2014 smallpox virus incident on the NIH campus that called into question a number of missed opportunities to discover vials... Read More »
Florida to join National Collaborative for Bio-Preparedness
The Florida State Department of Health recently entered into a data use agreement and analytics agreement with the University of North Carolina (UNC) to officially join the National Collaborative for Bio-Preparedness (NCBP), a network which aims improve national preparedness for biohazard-related... Read More »
OPCW, Iranian Government organizes training course on toxic chemical agents for emergency first responders
A group of 24 first responders representing 15 Asian Member States to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) recently convened in Tehran, Iran for a training course on emergency assistance and protection against chemical weapons. The course, which was organized by the Organization for the... Read More »
TSA seeing record numbers of air travel passengers during summer season
The number of passengers that will fly during the summer season is expected to surpass more than 2.5 million people per day, the highest number in years, according to recent estimates from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). According to the TSA, the week of June 25 - July 1, 2017... Read More »
Congress eyes reauthorization of firefighter grants
Both Republican and Democrat members of the House appeared poised during a Wednesday hearing to reauthorize key FEMA programs providing matching grants for local firefighters, though the level of funding is still up in the air. Members of both parties appeared convinced the grants, known as the... Read More »
Large-scale U.S. botulism outbreak could be disastrous, expert says
Botulinum toxin, produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria, is the most potent biological toxin known to exist on Earth. The toxin causes botulism, a severe muscle-paralyzing, potentially fatal disease, characteristics that increase its likelihood as a potential bioweapon. And while the U.S.... Read More »
Bipartisan letter requests boost to cybersecurity education for JROTC
A bipartisan group of Congress members recently sent a public letter to Defense Secretary James Mattis urging him to direct military departments to incorporate cybersecurity education into the Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) curricula for high school students. The letter was... Read More »
Gov. McAuliffe makes Virginia first state to opt-in to FirstNet public safety broadband network
Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D-VA) signed a letter this week, accepting the plan laid out by the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) and AT&T to build a wireless public safety broadband network throughout Virginia, making it the first state in the country to do so. As part of the agreement,... Read More »
New Mexico Department of Health expands project to map Zika-carrying mosquitoes
The New Mexico Department of Health recently awarded a second contract to researchers from the New Mexico State University (NMSU) to expand a previous project map that shows the geographic distribution of mosquitoes that could potentially carry the Zika virus. According to a release by NMSU,... Read More »
WHO: Lassa fever outbreak response remains ongoing, mitigation measures to continue
An outbreak of the acute viral hemorrhagic fever illness called Lassa fever has recently been reported by officials from the World Health Organization (WHO) in multiple West African nations including Nigeria. As of last month, a total of 501 suspected cases have been reported, 104 of which... Read More »OPCW, Spanish Government hosts training course on toxic chemical agents for emergency medical first responders
Medical first responders engaged in emergent chemical incident simulations last month during a training course designed to educate first responders in emergency medical situations involving toxic chemical contamination held in Madrid, Spain and hosted by the Organization for the Prohibition of... Read More »