Recent News

By Category: Biosafety

Controversial US scientist creates deadly new flu strain for pandemic research

(The Independent) A controversial scientist who carried out provocative research on making influenza viruses more infectious has completed his most dangerous experiment to date by deliberately creating a pandemic strain of flu that can evade the human immune system. Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin-Madison has genetically manipulated the 2009 strain of pandemic flu Read More »

July 2, 2014
| Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, Biosafety, and Research
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PharmAthene Presents SparVax(R) Anthrax Vaccine Data at the New Technologies New Vaccines 2014 Conference

(WSJ) PharmAthene, Inc. (NYSE MKT: PIP) announced today that data from the Company’s SparVax(R) next-generation anthrax vaccine program were recently presented at the 8(th) Annual New Technologies, New Vaccines conference. In a presentation entitled, “Factors that Affect Potency and Stability for a Recombinant Protective Antigen Vaccine,” Dr. Bradford Powell, Director, Analytical Sciences at PharmAthene, presented Read More »

April 1, 2014
| Filed under North America, Biosafety, and Research
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Bio-terrorism: Call for safety measures to avoid risks

(The Express Tribune) The workshop on “Raising Awareness on Dual Use Concerns in Biotechnology” was organised by Department of Biotechnology in collaboration with School of Politics and International Relations Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU). Speakers in their presentations highlighted the great risks associated with the misuse of knowledge and emerging techniques, such as creation of pathogens with Read More »

March 28, 2014
| Filed under South Asia, Biosafety, Biotechnology, Bioterrorism, International, and Policy & Initiatives
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Biosecurity spending under the microscope

(Newstalk ZB) Biosecurity spending priorities are being put under the microscope. The Ministry for Primary Industries spent over $900,000 on an operation earlier this year after a single Queensland Fruit fly was found in Whangarei. Labour MP Damien O’Connor says the money had to be spent, and the work had to be done, but it’s Read More »

March 25, 2014
| Filed under Asia/Pacific, Biosafety, International, Policy & Initiatives, and Research
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Information poses bigger bioterrorism threat than microbes

(Wired UK) It is the spread of information rather than microbes that poses the biggest bioterrorism threat today, concluded a panel of experts at Chatham House today. Biosafety is no longer simply about controlling substances and microbes, but information, says Laurie Garrett who runs the Council on Foreign Relation’s Public Health Program. While we have Read More »