Recent News

By Region: North America

Navy to Shift WMD Surveillance Activities

(Global Security Newswire) The U.S. Navy on Thursday said it would relocate an Indiana installation’s chemical, biological and radiological arms surveillance activities to a facility in Dahlgren, Va. The planned transfer of programs from Crane, Ind., to Naval Surface War Center Dahlgren Division is intended to centralize efforts and cut operational expenses, the service said Read More »

August 6, 2012
| Filed under North America, Biotechnology, and Countermeasures
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Synthetic Biology Expands Beyond Bacteria

(GEN) Synthetic biology is getting a boost. So far, most researchers have designed their synthetic circuits using transcription factors found in bacteria. However, these don’t always translate well to nonbacterial cells and can be a challenge to scale. Now, researchers have come up with a new method to design transcription factors for nonbacterial cells—specifically yeast. Their initial Read More »

August 3, 2012
| Filed under North America, Biotechnology, and Research
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White House Issues U.S. Biothreat Detection Plan

(Global Security Newswire) A U.S. biological threat detection plan issued by the White House on Tuesday aims in part to guide the preparation of measures for alerting the public of a possible intentional release of disease materials, the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy reported. An accompanying statement by President Obama describes the document Read More »

August 3, 2012
| Filed under North America, Biosafety, and Policy & Initiatives
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UN General Assembly resolution to tell Syria to lock down chemical weapons

(StarTribune) With the U.N. Security Council deadlocked over the Syrian crisis, the General Assembly prepared Friday to denounce Syria for unleashing tanks, artillery, helicopters and warplanes on the people of Aleppo and Damascus, and demand that the Assad regime keep its chemical and biological weapons warehoused and under strict control. The Assembly was overshadowed by Read More »

August 3, 2012
| Filed under Middle East, North America, Biological Weapons, and International
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National biosurveillance strategy aims to detect manifold threats

(CIDRAP) The Obama Administration this week unveiled the nation’s first national biosurveillance strategy, designed to detect a range of threats, including bioterror attacks, infectious disease outbreaks, agricultural threats, and foodborne illness outbreaks. In a letter prefacing the 8-page plan, which the White House unveiled on Jul 31, President Barack Obama wrote that this step is part of Read More »