Chemical
A new chip designed by scientists by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory could revolutionize the way testing is handled for biological and chemical agents, disease and pharmaceutical drugs.
Called “brain-on-a-chip,” the device allows scientists to simulate the central nervous system... Read More »
Members of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) gathered in Romania last week as part of a rapid response and assistance training exercise based around chemical attacks.
The Rapid Response and Assistance Mission, of which this was a part, was created in 2016 as an aid... Read More »
Just a week after an international coalition carried out airstrikes on an ISIS chemical weapons facilities, marines and sailors took part in a three-day course on combating, adapting to and overcoming chemical and biological contaminations from Dec. 5-8.
The course was administered by Corps... Read More »
A multinational effort from the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) region drew first responders to Qatar this week to bolster their emergency response and protection skills in the field.
The large-scale event was hosted by Qatar’s National Committee for the Prohibition of Weapons (NCPW)... Read More »
The Canadian Department of National Defense awarded today an $8 million contract for delivery of the anthrax combating drug Anthrasil to Emergent BioSolutions Inc.
The news comes on the heels of Health Canada’s approval of Anthrasil under new regulations. With that approval, it is marked for... Read More »
The recent Chemical Biological Defense Science and Technology Conference featured presentations from 70 U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) researchers on topics ranging from protective armor coatings to battlefield sensing to pharmaceutical-based agents.
Organized by the... Read More »
Plants serve a variety of purposes ranging from food and medicine to clothing and furniture. And now they have a new use – in the Department of Defense (DOD).
The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is working on a plan to use plants to gather intelligence information.... Read More »
A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposal to begin consolidation of chemical, radiological, nuclear and explosives (CBRNE) functions this month does not reflect recommendations made by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in August 2016.
Congress directed DHS to review its weapons... Read More »
A witness at a House subcommittee hearing on Thursday identified drone delivery of biological, chemical and nuclear weapons as one of the newest threats to homeland security, as lawmakers examined a proposal to reorganize and enhance U.S. defenses against weapons of mass destruction.
The... Read More »
The Twenty-Second Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) recently appointed H.E. Ambassador Fernando Arias of Spain as the next director-general of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
Ambassador Arias will take over... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is taking forward steps in the battle against Anthrax--notably by putting up $3,199,221 in funds to Tangen BioSciences for development of a new, low-cost diagnostic.
That money was doled out back in September, establishing a... Read More »
States Parties from Asia gathered earlier this month to discuss potential adoption of national legislation regarding chemical weapons during a Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) forum held in The Hague in the Netherlands.
The Stakeholders Forum for States Parties in Asia on the Adoption of... Read More »
Progress in eliminating chemical weapons stockpiles and the appointment of a new director general will highlight the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons’ (OPCW) upcoming 22nd Conference of the States Parties (CSP-22) scheduled from Nov. 27 to Dec. 1.
Hamid Ali Rao, the deputy... Read More »
The Deputy Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Hamid Ali Rao, recently visited Mexico where he discussed the importance of preparedness against chemical emergencies and peaceful uses of chemistry.
Rao opened the Table Top Exercise on Chemical... Read More »
A testbed will be established in the World Trade Center Transportation Hub in New York City for chemical detection sensors under an agreement announced between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey on Tuesday.
The agreement outlines the... Read More »
After serving as the acting director of the Army’s Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) since May, Eric Moore was named the permanent director of ECBC by Maj. Gen. Cedric Williams effective Oct. 29.
ECBC is tasked with research and development efforts related to non-medical components of... Read More »
The labs working to protect the United States from hazardous pathogens are themselves in need of oversight updates, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), owing to several lapses in safety.
The labs in question--overseen by the Federal Select Agent Program--amount to more... Read More »
In a recent report and testimony, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommended that the Department of Energy (DOE) take a leading role in a collaborative interagency effort on research into low-dose radiation’s health effects.
GAO identified seven federal agencies that obligated... Read More »
Some of the 276 laboratories across the United States that research hazardous pathogens like Ebola virus and anthrax bacteria experience continued safety lapses, leaving oversight reforms needed, according to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) study.
The Federal Select Agent... Read More »
A two-day workshop was recently held in Washington, D.C. that addressed methods of building up the U.S. ability to monitor and analyze its medical countermeasures for use in public health emergencies.
Hosted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the workshop focused... Read More »
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü recently gave a speech at the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) in Vienna, Austria, to highlight the organization’s cooperation with industry as it works to complete the destruction of... Read More »
The Eighty-Sixth Session of the Executive Council (EC) of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) recently reached a consensus recommendation for the next Director-General of the OPCW Technical Secretariat to be appointed.
The EC recommended that the Twenty-Second... Read More »
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Deputy Director-General Hamid Ali Rao highlighted chemical safety and security as a priority area for engagement during a recent official visit to Dhaka, Bangladesh, for the International Seminar on Advanced Chemical Safety and Security... Read More »
France’s Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian recently welcomed Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü for a symposium in Paris commemorating the organization’s 20th anniversary.
In his opening remarks, Üzümcü... Read More »
A joint discovery by the Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg, Sweden recently found elusive drug resistance genes in bacteria.
Bacteria have been evolving in recent years, mutating to meet our own efforts against them. Even otherwise harmless bacteria can pass... Read More »
The Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) recently participated in a ceremony marking the completion of the destruction of the Russian Federation’s remaining chemical weapons stockpiles under OPCW verification protocols.
Held at the residence of... Read More »
Elusys Therapeutics, Inc. announced Wednesday that it delivered the first doses of its treatment for inhalational anthrax, ANTHIM (obiltoxaximab) Injection, to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile (SNS).
The company is providing the treatment to the SNS, the U.S. government’s store of... Read More »
A group of Latin American and Caribbean first responders recently participated in an emergency response training event involving chemical warfare agents and toxic industrial chemicals held at the Spanish National NBC Defense School in Madrid, Spain.
Developed by the Organization for the... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) recently entered into a nine-month, $12 million contract with Achaogen, Inc to develop an antibiotic called C-scape that could treat certain types of drug-resistant bacteria and infections caused by bacteria used in biowarfare.... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. said on Wednesday it was awarded a contract valued at up to $25 million from the U.S. State Department to supply Trobigard, an intramuscular auto-injector treatment to be used in the event of chemical threats such as nerve agents, in countries outside of the United... Read More »
With the threat of chemical incidents growing worldwide, an international assortment of medical professionals gathered in Xi’an, China last month to train for the danger.
The event lasted from Sept. 18-22 and saw experts trained in advanced hospital care for victims of toxic or weaponized... Read More »
Maryland Lt. Gov. Boyd K. Rutherford visited Smiths Detections, Inc. (SDI) facility near Edgewood, Maryland this week where he was given a demonstration of technologies to detect and identify opioids to help protect first responders from exposure.
Smiths Detection develops and manufactures... Read More »
Officials with U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Tucson Office of Field Operations recently hosted a two-day conference for law enforcement personnel on the dangers of the synthetic opioid fentanyl.
Held at the headquarters of the Tucson Police Department, the event featured... Read More »
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 »
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 »
