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Threats
In two foiled attempts to smuggle heroin and methamphetamine into the United States, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Port of Nogales seized nearly $950,000 worth of heroin and methamphetamine this week.
The smuggling methods varied, of course. In one case, a 45-year-old... Read More »
An algorithm that automatically determines how much useful information is contained in latent crime scene fingerprints was recently developed by scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Michigan State University.
During the crime scene discovery process, the... Read More »
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently awarded a grant worth $112,000 to researchers at the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa (UH) to expand its studies of a proposed Ebola virus disease (EVD) vaccine candidate.
According to UH, the... Read More »
The number of suspected cholera cases in Yemen has surpassed more than 500,000 during 2017, with approximately 2,000 patients succumbing to the virus’ lethal effects since the outbreak began, according to a recent release from the World Health Organization (WHO).
"Yemen’s health workers are... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the CII-ArboViroPlex rRT-PCR Test.
The test is the first multiplex assay that simultaneously tests for the presence of Zika virus, all serotypes of dengue virus, chikungunya virus and West Nile... Read More »
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reached a new record for passengers and crew screened in a month in July, surpassing the previous record set in June.
TSA officers screened 72,117,046 passengers and crew at airports in July, including approximately 2 million at Ronald Reagan... Read More »
Students studying cybersecurity at Mississippi State University (MSU) received help from the National Science Foundation (NSF) this week with the announcement of a $3.11 million award to expand its CyberCorps Scholarship program.
“Cybersecurity is an increasingly important component of our... Read More »
Seqirus recently announced that its cell-based manufacturing technology at its facility in Holly Springs, North Carolina has delivered a four-fold increase in seasonal influenza vaccine output in just a period of two years.
“With a global influenza pandemic remaining a real and constant... Read More »
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) recently exercised an option with Soligenix, Inc. to fund its good manufacturing practices-compliant ricin vaccine, called RiVax, bulk drug substance and finished drug product manufacturing in order to conduct future preclinical... Read More »
Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis recently developed a test that uses nanotechnology to quickly detect the Zika virus in blood.
Current Zika test requires the refrigeration of a blood sample in order to shop it to a medical center or laboratory. The recently developed test’s... Read More »
U.S. Muslims with positive opinions about ISIS and suicide bombing are more likely to experience isolation, social rejection, and depression, according to a recent National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) study.
The project began in 2012, and the... Read More »
Representatives of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) worked with the Turkish National Police last month to provide radiation detection systems and training.
Their goal was to enhance capabilities to detect smuggled nuclear and... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has two new tools at their disposal for predicting cattle shipments and preparing for disease outbreaks among them.
With department funding, the two new web-based tools include the U.S. Animal Movement Model... Read More »
The research community involved with academic biomedicine should improve its abilities to mitigate and recover from disasters, according to a recent report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.
According to the report, the results of various disasters, ranging from... Read More »
A test of more than 50 different computers linked with USB hubs, the most common medium to connect external devices to computers, revealed that more than 90 percent of the computers leaked information to the USB device, according to a recent study conducted by researchers from the University of... Read More »
A new proof-of-concept test for Zika virus that can quickly produce results in a matter of minutes has recently been developed by researchers from the Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
Contemporary Zika virus tests involves... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations recently announced the selection of William Allen Durham as the new director of the National Air Security Operations Center in Corpus Christi, Texas (NASOC – Corpus Christi).
As director of the center, Durham will lead the... Read More »
Using highly specific nuclear-derived techniques, a H5N8 avian influenza outbreak was recently identified in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and quickly put under control in the country’s Lake Albert region, according to scientists involved with the response efforts.
“This is the... Read More »
Cholera vaccines provide substantial protection for adults, but provide significantly less protection for children under age five, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.
The study, which was published in a recent... Read More »
Since the onset of the Zika virus in 2015, experts have been researching ways to combat its spread, but now, Arizona State University may have a plant-based vaccine ready to meet the challenge.
The effort is different than existing efforts in that it appears to be more potent, safer and even... Read More »
Officials with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently announced the deployment of facial recognition exit technology to Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport (LAS) for one daily flight from the United States to Guadalajara, Mexico.
The decision follows the recent deployment of... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers stationed at various ports of entry in California recently intercepted shipments of illicit narcotics weighing more than 1,500 pounds and captured 17 fugitives over a series of incidents.
In total, officers seized more than 1,000 pounds of... Read More »
Global vaccine creator Seqirus recently announced a major milestone in the fight against pandemic threats in the United States, consisting of a four-fold increase in seasonal influenza vaccine creation over two years.
“With a global influenza pandemic remaining a real and constant threat,... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations officers recently seized 36,000 toy airplanes worth $575,000 that violated trademark laws and were headed for the Point of Entry (POE) in Ranier, Minnesota.
Officers targeted the rail container containing the merchandise at the... Read More »
Without an internationally standardized approval process to guide countries in conducting public health-related experiments, resurrecting an eradicated disease in the lab increases the risk it could be used as an agent of bioterrorism, says Dr. Tom Inglesby, who is recognized worldwide in the... Read More »
The James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) recently published a database on the website of the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) that details all of Iran’s missile and space launch vehicle (SLV) tests since 1988, which marked the end of the Iran-Iraq war.
Specifically, the... Read More »
As dangerous opioids like fentanyl continue to be an increasing issue for law enforcement, Smiths Detection, Inc. (SDI) recently announced that it has adapted three of its technologies in order to detect and identify fentanyl to limit officers’ exposure to the drug on duty.
Unlike more common... Read More »
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently named Steve Francis as head of its Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) unit based in Detroit, Michigan.
“As a native of this region, I’m honored to serve my community in this new capacity,” Francis said. “I look forward to... Read More »
The Raven’s Challenge gathered together technicians from public safety departments, the Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and the Belgian army last week for an intense session of live-fire explosives preparation.
The week-long training session took place at five locations throughout the country.... Read More »
The International Police Organization (INTERPOL) and Palo Alto Networks recently signed an agreement at the INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation (IGCI) in Singapore that will increase collaboration between the two organizations on cybercrime issues.
The agreement provides a framework for... Read More »
Lockheed Martin recently announced plans to unveil its next generation air and missile defense radar demonstrator at the annual Space & Missile Defense Symposium this week in Huntsville, Alabama.
The active electronically scanned array (AESA) Radar for Engagement and Surveillance (ARES) is a... Read More »
An outbreak of dengue fever first identified in May continues to affect multiple regions in the Ivory Coast, according to a recent report by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The first cases of the outbreak were reported to public health authorities on April 22 and were confirmed by an... Read More »
Thirty-two chemistry professionals representing 15 Latin American and Caribbean signatories to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) recently convened for a chemical safety and security management training event in Mexico City, Mexico.
According to the Organization for the Prohibition of... Read More »
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently awarded more than $200 million to support state, city, county, and territory-based efforts to protect and respond to threats from emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases.
Issued through the CDC’s Epidemiology and... Read More »
An attempt to smuggle seven Mexican nationals onto U.S. soil this week resulted in the death of one of the smuggled individuals and the arrest of the 23-year-old man responsible.
“Due to this tragic result, the smuggler should face the highest consequences,” Acting Assistant Chief Patrol... Read More »
