Recent News

By Region: North America

Government to Amend Select Agents and Toxins List

(Global Biodefense) The federal government this week unveiled plans for a new “tiered” designation of pathogens on the Select Agent and Toxins List. The changes require more stringent precautions at scientific facilities holding any of the newly designated “Tier 1″ agents, which include Bacillus anthracis, Burkholderia mallei and pseudomallei, Foot-and-mouth disease virus, Ebola, Marburg virus Read More »

October 4, 2012
| Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, Biosafety, and Policy & Initiatives
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New antibiotic cures disease by disarming pathogens, not killing them

(EurekAlert) A new type of antibiotic can effectively treat an antibiotic-resistant infection by disarming instead of killing the bacteria that cause it. Researchers report their findings in the October 2 issue of mBio®, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. “Traditionally, people have tried to find antibiotics that rapidly kill bacteria. But Read More »

October 3, 2012
| Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, Public Health, and Research
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Researchers Identify Deadly Congo Virus

(All Africa) An international research team has identified a previously unknown virus that caused two deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2009. The unusual characteristics of the virus and its deadly consequences still puzzle the team, however, and research continues to better understand how the virus is transmitted and what might stop Read More »

October 3, 2012
| Filed under Africa, North America, Agents & Toxins, International, and Public Health
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NATO Pursues Unified Biothreat Alert Mechanism

(Global Security Newswire) NATO could use a French-controlled disease monitoring technology as part of a planned system for detecting potential biological strikes against its military assets, the alliance said on Monday. To date, the “ASTER” equipment has served to warn of spikes in natural infections among French and German armed personnel in Djibouti, enabling the Read More »

October 3, 2012
| Filed under Europe, North America, International, Public Health, and Research
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Smallpox Virus May Help Treat Deadly Form of Breast Cancer

(ABC News) A new form of breast cancer treatment may be… smallpox? What was once a feared killer of millions of people may someday be used to treat one of the most dangerous forms of breast cancer. So far it’s worked in mice, and researchers are encouraged. The researchers, from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Read More »