Recent News

By Region: North America

Mixed news for biodefence in President’s budget request

(Nature.com) President Barack Obama’s budget request for 2013 contains mixed news for the US biodefence effort, which came under heavy criticism last year for failing to deliver treatments against biodefence threats despite spending some US$60 billion over the previous decade. According to figures compiled by Crystal Franco of the Center for Biosecurity of UPMC in Read More »

February 16, 2012
| Filed under North America and Policy & Initiatives
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Major Hurdles Remain for Biothreat Detection Project, Experts Say

(Global Security Newswire) The U.S. Homeland Security Department still must contend with significant hurdles in establishing a federal system for tracking potential biological health dangers to people and animals, a working group of experts concluded in assertions reported on Tuesday by the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. The National Biosurveillance Integration System still Read More »

February 16, 2012
| Filed under North America, Countermeasures, Policy & Initiatives, and Public Health
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Bill Would Extend State Oversight to Maryland Disease Laboratories

(Global Security Newswire) A bill submitted by a Maryland lawmaker this month would require official state certification and oversight of nongovernmental disease research facilities, the Fredrick News-Post reported on Wednesday. The proposal, put forward by state Senator Ron Young, would charge the Maryland Health and Mental Hygiene Department with certifying and watching over any new Read More »

February 16, 2012
| Filed under North America, Biosafety, Policy & Initiatives, and Public Health
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Scientists Debate How To Conduct Bird Flu Research

(NPR)(Audio) This time around, fears revolve around experiments on the bird flu virus H5N1. Scientists tweaked its genes and made it more transmissible between ferrets, which are the laboratory stand-in for people. Some experts fear that if this virus ever escaped …

February 16, 2012
| Filed under Europe, North America, Biosafety, Biotechnology, International, Policy & Initiatives, Public Health, and Research
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Forum: H5N1 research tussle shows need for clear policies

(CIDRAP News) The acute need for clearer policies concerning the handling of potentially risky life-sciences research was the main theme that came across today in a Harvard forum on the controversy over studies on H5N1 avian influenza …