Recent News

By Region: North America

New Jersey Firm Wins $8.2M Biodefense Contract

The New Jersey biopharmaceutical firm Snowdon on Tuesday announced receiving a three-year Defense Department contract worth up to $8.2 million for the creation of biological warfare countermeasures (see GSN, Sept. 21). Experimental drugs developed for fighting particular disease agents would undergo testing in secured facilities at the Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Pathogens in New  Read More »

U.S. Awards Contract For Biodefense Diagnostic Technology

Defense contractor Northrop Grumman said Friday it has received nearly $10 million from the U.S. Health and Human Services Department to produce a diagnostic system that could quickly verify whether an individual has been contaminated by a dangerous pathogen (see GSN, June 16). The one-year, $9.6-million deals calls for preparation, production and assessment of two  Read More »

BioWatch system faces technical, operational challenges

In 2003 U.S. authorities set up a network of air samplers in major cities designed quickly to detect biological agents released in a terrorist attacks; new report says that the system, known as BioWatch, faces “serious technical and operational challenges”

NATO Experts Discuss WMD Terror Countermeasures

NATO this week hosted discussions by roughly 50 experts on preparations for dealing with terrorist attacks involving chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons (see GSN, Aug. 5). The three-day session that began Tuesday in the Czech city of Brno offered participants the opportunity to exchange knowledge on WMD “resources” available to extremists and on equipment  Read More »

Deadly Cattle Disease Eradicated

Rinderpest becomes only the second devastating viral disease to be wiped off the face of the earth