Recent News

By Region: North America

San Francisco Moves to Combat Bioterror False Alarms

While they haven’t presented a big — or apparently any — problem in San Francisco yet, city officials are moving to rein bio-detection devices owned and operated by private businesses, building owners and institutions to screen for anthrax, tularemia and other viruses and bacteria deliberately…

March 24, 2011
| Filed under North America, Bioterrorism, and Countermeasures
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Report faults Army in 2001 anthrax mailings

Reporting from Bethesda, Md.—The Army scientist believed responsible for the 2001 anthrax letter attacks that killed five people and crippled mail delivery in parts of the country had exhibited alarming mental problems that military officials should have noticed and acted on long before he had a chance to strike, a panel of behavioral analysts has Read More »

March 23, 2011
| Filed under North America and Bioterrorism
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The unsolved anthrax murder mystery

The US public health system has serious vulnerabilities, and one major problem is identifying and responding to public health crimes. The investigation into the 2001 anthrax attacks is a case in point. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) recently published its report on the scientific methodologies used in the FBI investigation into the anthrax-laced letters Read More »

March 23, 2011
| Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, and Public Health
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UTHealth, HCC, U.S. Government Create Novel Biosafety Training Program – Newswise (press release)

HOUSTON – (March 22, 2011) –The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) and Houston Community College (HCC) Coleman College for Health Sciences have been awarded a grant to establish the Biosafety Training Center, which will train, graduate and place biosafety technicians in jobs within one year.

March 23, 2011
| Filed under North America, Biosafety, and Policy & Initiatives
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Open-Source Software Designed to Minimize Synthetic Biology Risks is Released

(Nanowerk News) A software package designed to minimize the potential risks of synthetic biology for the nation’s defense and security is now available to the gene synthesis industry and synthetic biology community in an open-source format. Virginia Tech has licensed GenoTHREAT, a software tool that helps detect the use of synthetic DNA as bioterrorism agents. Read More »