Recent News

By Region: North America

Texas A&M bioterrorism research may yield rabies cure

Rabies infection is an unusual event in the United States, but it is a problem that kills more than 50,000 people around the world every year; the U.S. Department of Defense is funding research at Texas A&M on counter-measures to bioterrorism — but one of the most immediate outcomes of A&M's research could be a  Read More »

Synthetic biology: Harbinger of an uncertain future?

It is hard to imagine that only three years ago, back in 2007, there was such a lack of awareness of dual-use and related biosecurity issues among practicing life scientists. Even the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) was almost unknown. For me, this brand of unawareness was confirmed when, that year, Alexander Kelle attended  Read More »

Powder Mailer Strikes Again

An unidentified individual or group of people this month has sent 30 powder-filled letters to businesses and other sites in three states, part of an apparent campaign that has involved hundreds of mailings and reached eight U.S. embassies, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Dec. 17, 2008). All but five of the most recent letters  Read More »

Drug Testing Lab Planned at Fort Detrick

The United States is moving to build a $584 million facility at Fort Detrick, Md., for assessing vaccines and other disease countermeasures, the Frederick News-Post reported Saturday (see GSN, June 10). The federal government is expected to prepare an environmental impact report for the Medical Countermeasure Test and Evaluation Facility, a 460,000-square-foot complex planned for  Read More »

Notification of Single Source Cooperative Agreement Award for the World Health Organization (WHO)

Notification of Single Source Cooperative Agreement Award for the World Health Organization (WHO)