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Two House subcommittee chairmen recently sent a letter to Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire, requesting information about how the intelligence community (IC) is combatting the growing threat of transnational, white supremacist terrorism.
At a joint subcommittee hearing last... Read More »
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is launching a network of research centers that will work to develop better influenza vaccines.
NIAID – which is part of the National Institutes of Health -- will provide up to $51 million in funding for the initiative, called... Read More »
Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), a mosquito-borne virus, recently led to the deaths of three Michigan residents, and U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) is pressing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for details of their efforts to halt it.
In addition to the three fatalities, EEE... Read More »
The House of Representatives advanced last week four bills designed to support the traveler security screening process and enhance the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) intelligence apparatus.
Officials touted the potential benefits the Trusted Traveler Reconsideration and Restoration Act of... Read More »
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials said the agency recently initiated an effort designed to increase collaboration between America and Honduras regarding combating irregular migration through Central America.
Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin K. McAleenan has signed two... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives advanced last week bipartisan legislation that would create a task force within the Department of Homeland Security.
The Joint Task Force to Combat Opioid Trafficking Act is aimed at preventing foreign fentanyl and other opioids from entering the country. The... Read More »
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) awarded Emergent BioSolutions a $6.3 million research grant for further development of the company’s treatment for opioid addiction.
Specifically, the funding is for the continued development of AP007, Emergent’s sustained-release nalmefene... Read More »
The federal government needs to take a public-health approach for at-risk individuals and strengthen partnerships with civilian researchers to combat the rise of violent far-right terrorism, according to William Braniff, a terrorism expert.
Braniff recently testified to the U.S. Senate Committee... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) awarded a $67 million contract to BioFactura for the advanced development of its Smallpox Biodefense Therapeutic to treat smallpox.
While smallpox was declared eradicated in 1980, the threat of bioterrorism remains. To fill the... Read More »
Vienna, Austria-based Danube Tech GmbH has secured a $143,478 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) contract to develop blockchain security technology.
The award is funded through S&T’s Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP) Other Transaction... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has initiated Simplified Arrival at Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW) as a means of modernizing international arrivals by matching travelers to documents using face comparison technology.
CBP is committed to implementing an integrated biometric... Read More »
Under a $30 million contract with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), three institutions have been selected to create new centers of immunology research to advance tuberculosis (TB) vaccine development.
The three... Read More »
On the heels of new regulations issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) updating the EB-5 visa program that go into effect on Nov. 21, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) on Tuesday proposed a bipartisan bill that would expand the authority of the U.S. Department of Homeland... Read More »
A new report issued by leaders in international health says the world may face great risk from pathogens, including a rapidly moving, highly lethal pandemic projected to kill 50 to 80 million people and wiping out nearly 5 percent of the world’s economy.
High-impact respiratory pathogens, such... Read More »
The U.S. Senate advanced bipartisan legislation sponsored by Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) designed to enhance cybersecurity in the public and private sector.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Cyber Hunt and Incident Response Teams Act requires DHS to establish... Read More »
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar co-hosted Wednesday the “Meeting of Regional Ministers of Health on Ebola Preparedness and Response” during the 74th United Nations General Assembly.
Foremost on the ministers’ minds were the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the... Read More »
Scientists may have changed the way Chikungunya vaccines can be designed, produced, and stored, with the creation of a new type of synthetic vaccine that can be stored at warmer temperatures without the need for refrigeration.
The results of the vaccine study, published in Science Advances... Read More »
The U.S. House Homeland Security Committee recently advanced legislation that would establish a cybersecurity advisory committee to the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Committee.
The goal of the advisory committee would be to advise and consult the director as well as... Read More »
The Department of Defense’s Medical CBRN Defense Consortium (MCDC) awarded $20 million to Emergent BioSolutions Inc. for the development of an auto-injector to treat nerve agent-induced seizures.
The device, which will contain diazepam (5 mg/mL), is being designed for intramuscular... Read More »
Special agents from Homeland Security Investigations’ (HSI) Cyber Crimes Center and the Illicit Finance and Proceeds of Crime Unit recently taught a darknet training course to more than 100 local and state law enforcement personnel in Colorado.
The goal was to provide information on darknet... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the vaccine Jynneos to treat smallpox and monkeypox in adults.
It is the only currently FDA-approved vaccine for this disease.
“Following the global Smallpox Eradication Program, the World Health Organization certified the eradication of... Read More »
Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) leaders are expressing support for a recently signed public health order focusing on vaccine technology development, prioritization, and emphasizing vaccination importance.
President Donald Trump announced the executive order in advance of what is... Read More »
Lockheed Martin officials said flight tests of the firm’s Sikorsky HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopter have determined the aircraft’s new tactical mission kit operates as designed, ensuring seamless transitioning to evaluation.
“This tactical mission kit leverages the knowledge we’ve gained... Read More »
One of the largest research contracts ever awarded to the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) was announced by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) this week, to the potential tune of more than $200 million over the next seven years.
Initially, the... Read More »
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) recently held a test of emergency response plans in Hershey, Pa., in conjunction with local and state organizations.
The test assessed tactical response and coordination to a complex and coordinated attack.
The exercise was in the... Read More »
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Center for Global Health was designated as a Collaborating Center for Biosafety and Biosecurity by the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO).
The designation -- the first awarded to a CDC/WHO collaborating... Read More »
The Sept. 14 gas explosion that stoked a fire at a Russian bioweapons facility in Siberia where viruses and bacteria including smallpox, Ebola and anthrax are stored reminded the world that humans are only one catastrophic biological event away from a pandemic that could kill tens of millions of... Read More »
President Donald Trump signed an executive order that directs the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense to propose a plan and budget to modernize the development of flu vaccines.
The plan must be submitted within 120 days. The goal is to improve preparedness for... Read More »
Proposed funding allocations by the Senate Appropriations Committee address some of the most urgent threats to public and individual, the Infectious Diseases Society of America said.
The bill’s allotment of $168.5 million for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC)... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) intends to provide $14 million and expertise support for the advanced development of an investigational Ebola treatment being pursued by Ridgeback Biotherapeutics of Miami.
Ridgeback is manufacturing the therapeutic drug known as... Read More »
The House of Representatives has advanced a measure sponsored by Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH) designed to aid the effort to stop money laundering supporting criminal activity.
The legislation was advanced with unanimous support.
The Advancing Innovation (AI) to Assist Law Enforcement Act... Read More »
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kevin K. McAleenan recently unveiled the agency’s plan to address terrorism and targeted violence during an event co-hosted by the Heritage Foundation.
The DHS Strategic Framework for Combating Terrorism and Targeted Violence at the Brookings... Read More »
There’s a new word on the street that packs a lot of punch: cyberbiosecurity, which is introducing a host of new multilayered threats to biodefense.
Members of the newly named Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense — formerly the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense — last week sought a... Read More »
Despite the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) recommendations -- since 2013 -- that a single dose of yellow fever vaccine will protect people for a lifetime, new research shows that might not hold true for the youngest among the populace.
The aforementioned WHO recommendation was based on... Read More »
In anticipation of the 2020 elections, federal lawmakers have approved $250 million in support of state and local governments’ efforts to strengthen election security.
The Senate Appropriations Committee recently granted approval to the allotment via an amendment to the Financial Services and... Read More »
