Recent News

By Category: Policy & Initiatives

Italy: New Program Looks at Biosecurity

MILAN (AP) — The threat is all too real, experts say: foreign insects introduced in an area with no natural defenses with the aim of destabilizing the economy, food supply or both. A new €6 million ($8.2 million) project funded by the European Commission will study both how to prevent and respond to biological threats Read More »

February 24, 2011
| Filed under Europe, International, and Policy & Initiatives
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Napolitano Requests $57B For Homeland Security

The U.S. Homeland Security Department is seeking $57 billion in funding for the upcoming fiscal year for programs that include a monitoring system for potential bioterrorism threats and acquisition of additional radiation detectors to safeguard population centers against a potential nuclear attack (see GSN, Feb. 10). “Today’s threat picture features an adversary who evolves and Read More »

February 18, 2011
| Filed under North America, Biological Weapons, and Policy & Initiatives
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Lawmaker Seeks New Anthrax Mailings Probe

U.S. Representative Rush Holt on Tuesday introduced legislation that would create a panel to review the 2001 anthrax mailings as well as the federal handling of the incidents (see GSN, Feb. 15). A National Academy of Sciences panel on the same day released a report questioning the conclusiveness of genetic evidence the FBI used to Read More »

February 17, 2011
| Filed under North America, Countermeasures, and Policy & Initiatives
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Science Alone Does Not Establish Source of Anthrax Used in 2001 Mailings

A National Research Council committee asked to examine the scientific approaches used and scientific conclusions reached by the FBI during its investigation of the 2001 anthrax mailings found it is not possible to reach a definitive conclusion about the origins of the anthrax in letters mailed to New York City and Washington, D.C. based solely Read More »

February 15, 2011
| Filed under North America, Policy & Initiatives, and Research
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Amerithrax Revisited

In February 2010, the FBI closed its case on Bruce Ivins. Many in the bio community found this a bit odd since the study commissioned by the FBI on the science supporting the case had not yet been completed. More than a year later, this study will finally be released. National Research Council committee reviewing Read More »