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iBio to license vaccine production facility using green plant technology
iBio will license the iBioLaunch platform to G-Con, LLC, a private Texas company; the “GreenVax Project” uses Nicotiana plants grown hydroponically; the green plant technology platform holds the promise of shortening vaccine production from months to weeks
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Europe would be better with a generic, rather than disease-specific, pandemic response plan
New study argues that the emphasis in Europe on disease-specific emergency plans utilized by most European countries could cost precious time and resources; "Countries and organizations invest enormous resources in developing plans for specific diseases, which may not even present a threat in the future," the study says
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U.S. anthrax response undermined by public ignorance, lack of confidence in government
A Harvard School of Public Health's survey found that nearly 40 percent of respondents who said they would likely accept antibiotic pills distributed from public health authorities after an anthrax attack also said they would not start taking them immediately; about 35 percent indicated they would hold onto the drugs until they knew for certain they had been exposed to anthrax
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Montana State team developing new way to fight influenza, bioterrorism threats
Researchers develop aerosol spray containing tiny protein cages that will activate an immune response in the lungs; the protein cages trigger the rapid production of lymphoid tissue in the lung; the technology could be used to prevent or treat a range of pulmonary diseases including influenza; it might counter bioterrorism threats, such as airborne microbes
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The digital revolution offers new ways to fight epidemics
There are more than 100 H1N1 apps for iPhone -- and several other apps dedicated to identifying, locating, and reporting the outbreak of epidemics; these digital tools could help people take preventive measures earlier than otherwise would have been the case, but they also open the door to mass panic from unreliable or false reports
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Killing malaria bugs dead with laser
Mosquito-killing laser demonstrated; if bed nets are the low-tech solution to combat the deadly malaria -- caused by a parasite transmitted when certain mosquitoes bite people -- the laser is a high-tech one; the laser detection is so precise, it can specify the species, and even the gender, of the mosquito being targeted
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Five infectious diseases that might re-emerge
Dreaded infectious diseases of the past have largely been kept at bay by antibioitcs and other medical advances; these diseases still linger, though, and could pose a threat – either because some parents refuse to vaccinate their kids owing to concerns about possible links between such vaccination and autism (Mumps), or because terrorist might use the pathogens in a bioterror attack (small pox)
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Germ threat: Preparing for bioterrorism
The Christmas terrorist near-miss serves as a reminder, if one were needed, that there are hundreds of terrorist planners, and thousands of dedicated followers, who plot day and night to inflict harm on the United States and its people; former Senators Bob Graham (D-Florida), and Jim Talent (R-Missouri), co-chairmen of the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, argue that the most likely weapon of mass destruction terrorists will use would be biological weapons; the two also argue that the H1N1 flu crisis offered an early test of the U.S. abilities to respond to bioterrorism; they conclude the United States flunked it badly
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Texas foundation wins contract to assist in fight against bioterrorism
Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research receives first installment of $456,216 of a $2.2 million contract to do research on Ebola and Marburg viruses, which could be used as potential bioterror weapons
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NIH grants to aid study of smallpox and other bioterror-related diseases
NIH gives the La Jolla Institute $18.8 million to do immunological research into diseases which could be used in bioterrorist attacks; the institute will study vaccines and treatments for smallpox, dengue, malaria, and tuberculosis
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U.S. post Office to deliver antidote in case of anthrax attack
President Obama signed an executive order instructing the Post Office to deliver antidotes to citizens in the event of an anthrax attack; the executive order calls for armed escorts to accompany delivery personnel
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First case of highly drug-resistant TB found in U.S.
The first case of extremely drug-resistant (XXDR) TB is found in the united States; one of the U.S. leading experts on tuberculosis says about the patient: "He is really the future….This is the new class that people are not really talking too much about. These are the ones we really fear because I'm not sure how we treat them"
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Mystery solved: Scientists now know how smallpox kills
New discovery fills a major gap in the scientific understanding of pox diseases and lays the foundation for the development of antiviral treatments, should smallpox or related viruses re-emerge through accident, viral evolution, or terrorist action
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BiodefenseObama administration to review U.S. response to health threats
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that she ordered the evaluation of the U.S. responses to health threats in part because the H1N1 vaccine shortage had highlighted the nation's dependence on antiquated technology
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BiodefensePotent new biodefense technology shows promise
Medizone International's AsepticSure technology continues to break the "6 log" decontamination barriers, this time with two very different spore forming bacteria, Claustridium difficile and Bacillis subtilis
The Long View
Former top MI6 official says bird flu more of a threat than terrorism
Former assistant chief of U.K.'s MI6 says pandemics posed more of threat to the U.K. population than terrorism; he also says that privacy worries about the international counterterrorist databases are exaggerated
Zimbabwe: A country death watchCholera cases exceed 60,000 in Zimbabwe
Robert Mugabe's war on his people continues: the number of cholera cases in Zimbabwe has exceeded WHO's nightmare scenario of 60,000; the Mugabe regime's systematic looting of the country and its destruction of the country's public services and infrastructure -- especially the health care system and water delivery and treatment facilities -- may make the epidemic unstoppable
Researchers show promising approach to avian flu vaccine
Terrapin researchers are developing a universal flu vaccine for animals; it could ultimately help prevent or delay another avian flu pandemic in humans
Anti-bioterror programs may make U.S. more vulnerable
There are 14 BSL-4 labs in the United States (6 already in operation; 3 completed but not yet operational; 5 under construction), and 15,000 scientists authorized to work with deadly pathogens; critics argue that by vastly increasing the number of researchers and labs authorized to handle deadly substances, the government has made the U.S. more vulnerable to bioterror attacks
Restaurants are a weak link in the food safety chain
The Congressional Research Service issues a major study of agroterrorism; one problem is that public eating places are exceedingly vulnerable to bioterror attack
Scientists closer to a safer anthrax vaccine
The currently available, 40-year-old anthrax vaccine, can prevent disease, but it has significant drawbacks: Immunity is temporary, and five injections over the course of eighteen months are needed to sustain it; one in five vaccine recipients develop redness, swelling, or pain at the injection site, and a small number develop severe allergic reactions; researchers offer a better vaccine
