Recent News

By Region: North America

Clinical Trials for Beginners: Ethics – Pediatric Anthrax Vaccine Case Study

(Scientific American) Having looked at the rampant conflicts of interest surrounding the anthrax vaccine and a bit at the logistics of the proposed pediatric vaccine trial let’s look at the trial in the context of ethical principles. The need for ethical guidelines came to vivid attention during World War II, when the Nazis tortured many Read More »

June 13, 2012
| Filed under North America, Countermeasures, Policy & Initiatives, Public Health, and Research
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Army Sees Greater Role in Anti-WMD Activities: Sources

(Global Security Newswire) The U.S. Army is examining the possibility that as operations wind down in Afghanistan, the service will will take on a growing role in efforts to combat weapons of mass destruction, Inside Defense reported on Friday. Army personnel for instance could be involved in efforts to detect and contain potential unsecured nuclear Read More »

June 13, 2012
| Filed under Asia/Pacific, Middle East, North America, South Asia, Biological Weapons, International, and Policy & Initiatives
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U.S. Funds Anthrax Vaccine Trial

(Global Security Newswire) Maryland-based biopharmaceutical company Emergent BioSolutions said on Monday it would receive as much as $8.43 million from the U.S. Health and Human Services Department for an anthrax vaccine trial. The study is part of the company's effort to receive federal authorization for using BioThrax to help treat people exposed to the potential Read More »

June 13, 2012
| Filed under North America, Countermeasures, Policy & Initiatives, and Research
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It’s more than a Farm Bill, US Ag official says

(New Philadelphia Times Reporter) When people talk about the federal Farm Bill, they’re not covering nearly enough territory. That’s the opinion of an authority on the matter — U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. He prefers to call it the Food, Farm and Jobs Bill. That’s “because it really deals with all of those issues,” Read More »

June 12, 2012
| Filed under North America, Agriculture, Policy & Initiatives, and Public Health
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Brown University Develops SMART Biochip

(Global Biodefense) Biomedical engineers at Brown University and Memorial Hospital in Rhode Island have developed a biochip that can detect the presence of influenza by zeroing in on the specific RNA sequence and then using tiny magnets in a tube to separate the flu-ridden sequence from the rest of the RNA strand. The Brown assay Read More »