Recent News

By Region: North America

Fear of Biological Weapons Grows As Technology Advances – KOMU-TV

With biological weapons, Block said the US needs to be on the defense. Technology has vastly grown to a point where any lab with any funding can reproduce viruses such as Smallpox in the form of a biological weapon. Viruses, like Smallpox, are harmful

March 11, 2011
| Filed under North America and Biological Weapons
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Army Enlists ‘DNA Origami’ to Spot Outbreaks

What do you get when you cross DNA, origami and the body’s natural defenses against disease? The Army’s newest way to spot smallpox outbreaks, apparently. Billions of defense dollars have gone into the military’s quest for sensors that will sniff out “bio-warfare” molecules. But today’s technologies just don’t cut it. In our bodies though, these Read More »

March 10, 2011
| Filed under North America, Biotechnology, Countermeasures, Public Health, and Research
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U.S. Touts Faster Anthrax Environmental Testing Method

A newly amended U.S. Environmental Protection Agency report details a new, faster environmental testing process for checking for the presence of live anthrax spores, the Center for Disease Research and Policy reported on Monday, July 20, 2010. The rapid-variability polymerase chain reaction testing process could be used in confirming that a contaminated area has been Read More »

March 9, 2011
| Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, Biotechnology, and Countermeasures
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NBAF awaits word from congress

Kansas State Collegian: Project coordinators for the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility are awaiting word from Congress regarding President Barack Obama's recommended $150 million budget allocation for construction of the biosafety laboratory. Ron Trewyn, vice president for research, said the allocation is sufficient for the early steps of construction. “That would certainly be enough to Read More »

March 8, 2011
| Filed under North America, Agriculture, and Biosafety
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Virologists form Global Virus Response Network

Leading medical virologists from around the world today signed up to join a new Global Virus Response Network – a first-of-its-kind international scientific alliance that aims to be a leading global authority on viral disease. Two days of organizational meetings at the Italian Embassy in Washington, DC, culminated in a signing ceremony 3 March during Read More »