Recent News

By Region: Europe

Neurosecurity and the Ethics of Military Cognitive Enhancement

(Science Progress) Is it ethical or legal to dose detainees with oxytocin, the naturally occurring “love chemical,” to enhance interrogation? What about giving soldiers drugs intended to prevent post-traumatic stress disorder? Should external electrical stimulation be used to help warfighters learn their jobs more quickly? And what if it turns out that certain genes that Read More »

May 28, 2012
| Filed under Asia/Pacific, Europe, North America, Agents & Toxins, Biological Weapons, and International
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Science Publishing and the Dual Use Dilemma

(PLoS Blogs) You may be familiar with the controversy over recent research conducted on H5N1 influenza. If you follow science news, it’s been hard to miss. Two papers, both of which report on the potential for H5N1 to become transmissible between experimental mammals, set off an international flurry over potential biosecurity concerns late last year. Read More »

May 28, 2012
| Filed under Asia/Pacific, Europe, North America, Agents & Toxins, International, Policy & Initiatives, and Research
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Russia Orders WMD-Resistant Infant Carriers

(Global Security Newswire) The Russian Federal Security Service has called for production of over 100 special carriers intended to safeguard infant children of high-level government personnel in the event of a chemical, biological or nuclear strike, Russia Today reported on Thursday. The carriers are constructed from a unique dispersion substance and are designed to prevent Read More »

May 28, 2012
| Filed under Asia/Pacific, Europe, Countermeasures, Policy & Initiatives, and Public Health
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Shortfalls Seen in Western Pacific Biolab Controls

(Global Security Newswire) An audit of disease research facilities in Western Pacific nations turned up a slew of shortcomings in measures to prevent the spread of dangerous biological agents, specialists announced in London last week. Slightly less than one-third of barriers for biological agent handling tables failed to function as intended, according to an examination Read More »

May 25, 2012
| Filed under Asia/Pacific, Europe, North America, Biosafety, International, and Policy & Initiatives
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Europe targets superbugs with public-private effort

(Nature News Blog) The growing threat from antibiotic resistance met the era of the public-private partnership on 24 May as the European Union’s Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) launched a new seven-year effort to bring academic and industry researchers together to work on the problem. Dubbed NewDrugs4BadBugs, the call for proposals is supported by a €223.7 Read More »