Recent News

By Region: North America

Bacterial fibers critical to human and avian infection

(EurekAlert) Escherichia coli—a friendly and ubiquitous bacterial resident in the guts of humans and other animals—may occasionally colonize regions outside the intestines. There, it can have serious consequences for health, some of them, lethal. In a new study conducted in Assistant Professor Melha Mellata’s lab, at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University, lead author Read More »

February 6, 2014
| Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, and Research
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BARDA Funds Countermeasure for Burkholderia Infections

(Global Biodefense) A new drug to help protect the public against two bioterrorism threats and provide a new option to treat antibiotic-resistant infections will advance in development under a public-private partnership, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) announced this week.

February 6, 2014
| Filed under North America, Bioterrorism, and Research
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Patent Granted for Anthrax Elimination System

(Global Biodefense) In addition to the patents held for healthcare-based enclosed space disinfection applications, Medizone International, Inc. has now been awarded a patent for its government variant of AsepticSure, intended for use by defense agencies as a response to a biological attack on critical buildings, infrastructure and resources.

February 5, 2014
| Filed under North America, Biotechnology, Countermeasures, and Research
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Publishing Data On New Disease Strains Draws Concern Of Intelligence Analysts

(Mint Press News) The new strain produces a type of deadly botulinum toxin for which there is no antidote. For that reason, California scientists and public health officials decided to redact the bacteria’s sequence information to prevent it from falling into terrorist hands.

February 5, 2014
| Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, Biosafety, and Research
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Hawaii Biotech awarded anthrax anti-toxin grant by NIAID

(Pharmaceutical Business Review) The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has awarded Hawaii Biotech a grant to continue the development of anthrax anti-toxin drugs. The small molecule inhibitors under development block anthrax lethal toxin.