Recent News

By Category: Countermeasures

A Novel Device for Preventing Acute Radiation Syndrome in Emergency First Responders

The destructive potential of radioactive material may be realized following an accidental or intentional reactor meltdown, a radiological ‘dirty’ bomb explosion or even a nuclear detonation. These risks are fueled by the ongoing race of unstable regimes to obtain nuclear arms. Most worrisome is a scenario in which terrorists acquire a nuclear weapon. Thus, there Read More »

May 18, 2015
| Filed under Biotechnology and Countermeasures
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Filgrastim Approved for Treatment of Acute Radiation Injury

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of filgrastim (trade name Neupogen) to increase survival of people acutely exposed to high doses of radiation that damage the bone marrow, for example, as a result of a nuclear power plant accident or terrorist attack.

May 4, 2015
| Filed under Countermeasures, Public Health, and Research
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NIST Develops ‘Fingerprinting’ Method for Antibody Therapies

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) researchers at the Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR) have demonstrated the most precise method yet to measure the structural configuration of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), an important factor in determining the safety and efficacy of these biomolecules as medicines. – See more at: http://globalbiodefense.com/2015/04/28/nist-develops-fingerprinting-method-for-antibody-therapies/#sthash.qDjJn01R.dpuf

May 4, 2015
| Filed under Biotechnology, Countermeasures, and Research
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CDC Grant for Sustained, Improved Infection Control in Liberia

The Centers for Disease Control is awarding a grant to the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Academic Consortium Combating Ebola in Liberia (ACCEL) to support sustained strengthening of infection prevention and control, laboratory and blood services in Liberian hospitals and clinics as they reopen following the Ebola crisis.

May 4, 2015
| Filed under Countermeasures and International
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BMC develops protocol for preserving forensic evidence after a terrorist attack

Boston Medical Center (BMC) pathologists have developed a set of protocols for processing and preserving forensic evidence, such as shrapnel, bullets and other projectiles, in surgical specimens (i.e. amputated limbs, injured organs, etc.) after a terrorist attack based on lessons learned from the Boston Marathon bombing. Their findings are published online in advance of print Read More »