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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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Ebola, Marburg vaccines undergoing tests in South Africa
Because Ebola and Marburg have been confined to Africa and outbreaks limited, drug companies have not had a financial incentive to come up with a vaccine; only the threat of bioterrorism has prompted the U.S. government to spend millions on vaccine research
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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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DoD bill will fund biological attack sensors
The $636 billion Defense bill will send money to Michigan for bioterror research; $1.6 million will go to Dexter Research Center in Dexter, Michigan, to continue its development of a security sensor meant to protect military installations from chemical and biological attacks; Kettering University in Flint, Michigan will receive $1.6 million to help DoD with its Chemical Agent Fate Program
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Maine to receive more than $3 million to aid bioterror research
Research institutions in Maine will receive more than $3 million for bioterrorism research; a grant of $1.9 million will go to Orono Spectral Solutions to continue its development of an infrared detection system for chemical and biological agents; another $1.3 million will be set aside for Sensor Research & Development in Orono, for real time test monitoring of chemical agents, chemical agent stimulants and toxic industrial chemicals
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Regional biodefense stockpiles could aid Europe in event of bioattack
A plan for European preparation for a terrorist bioattacks calls for a regional stockpiling system within Europe; a Baltic stockpile, Nordic stockpile, and so on would be of great import and would aid in covering countries that have not expressed a desire to form their own stockpiles.
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BiosafetyOSU president Burns Hargis defends anthrax research cancellation decision
Hargis had ended an anthrax vaccine research project at OSU because it would have resulted in euthanizing baboons; he says he did not bow to pressures from animal rights activists – or from the wife of billionaire T. Boone Pickens, both OSU alumni and major donors to the school.
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Military researcher infected with tularemia at research laboratory
Researchers at U.S. Army Research Institute of Infectious Diseases has contracted tularemia; tularemia, which is not transmitted by person to person contact, is considered a potential agent of bioterrorism and biowarfare.
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New guidelines for genetic screening to prevent bioterrorism split scientists
As the production of very accurate and valid scientific results from genetic screening has become more common among synthetic-biology companies, a fear that this ability will allow bioterrorists to exploit the system has arisen; there is a disagreement over the best method of genetic screening.
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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
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Oklahoma State rejects anthrax study over euthanasia of primates
The U.S. National Institutes of Health wanted OSU to conduct research on treatment for anthrax; the study involves baboons, which must be destroyed after anthrax exposure to ensure they do not infect others; In April, OSU announced that animals will no longer be euthanized in teaching labs at the veterinary school; measure was the result of pressure by Madeleine Pickens, the wife of billionaire benefactor and OSU alumnus T. Boone Pickens
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Experts call for changes in U.S. vaccine creation process
The current U.S. vaccine-manufacturing plan was developed prior to the cold war, and has never been updated; currently, the United States grows its vaccines in eggs over the course of six to eight months, and as there has been no real financial incentive to upgrade the vaccine making process, pharmaceutical manufacturers have instead focused on more profitable medications rather than vaccines
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Governments worry about more cases of drug-resistant H1N1
Health officials in the United Kingdom and the United States report the likely person-to-person spread of a drug-resistant strain of H1N1; most patients thus far infected with the strain have already been immune-deficient
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Gene synthesis companies establish measures to counter bioterrorism
The five largest synthetic DNA companies will establish common security measures to prevent the use of synthetic DNA by bioterrorists; among other things, the "Harmonized Screening Protocol" will screen gene sequences against a regulated pathogen database
