Recent News

By Category: Biotechnology

Possible Game-Changing Antibiotics from Soil Bacterium

Researchers have found a potential drug to fight the evolving antibiotic crisis, buried just underfoot in the soil in Maine. Named teixobactin, the promising target was discovered by a team led by Kim Lewis of Northeastern University, and has proven effective at killing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis in mice, and a host Read More »

January 12, 2015
| Filed under Biotechnology and Research
Share

Microrockets fueled by water neutralize chemical and biological warfare agents

AmericanChemicalSociety: Scientists are developing microrockets to fight back against dangerous chemical and biological agents, should the need arise. In the journal ACS Nano, they describe new spherical micromotors that rapidly neutralize chemical and biological agents and use water as fuel.

November 3, 2014
| Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, Biological Weapons, Biotechnology, Countermeasures, and Research
Share

Development of Self-Powered Chemical and Biological Sensors

GlobalBiodefense: New types of smart materials that can respond to selective stimuli hold promise in the development of novel platforms for self-powered chemical and biological (CB) sensors that can sense and destroy threat agents.

September 11, 2014
| Filed under North America, Biological Weapons, Biosafety, Biotechnology, Countermeasures, and Research
Share

Paving the way for drug and vaccine development with first controlled malaria infection trial in Africa

(Medical News Today) The innovative PfSPZ Challenge is key to success for speedier testing of new malaria vaccine and drugs. An international research team reports the first-ever clinical trial demonstrating controlled malaria infection in an African nation in the modern era. The study, published online in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (AJTMH) Read More »

July 30, 2014
| Filed under Africa, Agents & Toxins, Biotechnology, International, Public Health, and Research
Share

Federal review stalled after finding forensic errors by FBI lab unit spanned two decades

(Washington Post) Nearly every criminal case reviewed by the FBI and the Justice Department as part of a massive investigation started in 2012 of problems at the FBI lab has included flawed forensic testimony from the agency, government officials said. The findings troubled the bureau, and it stopped the review of convictions last August. Case Read More »