Virtual Biosecurity Center

The eighth wonder: developments in synthetic biology

(ScienceOmega) The UK life science industry has become a significant focus area for research and development in recent years, which is hardly surprising given that the industry generates a turnover of just over £50bn. Recognising the significance of the sector, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) published the ‘Strategy for UK Life Sciences’ in December 2011, setting out a series of directives aimed at advancing life sciences. A progress report released a year later showed that in 12 months £1bn in revenue had been generated through industry and private sector investment,2 further highlighting the importance of life sciences to the Read More »
- June 14, 2013 |
- Filed Under Biotechnology, Research
University of Toronto breakthrough allows fast, reliable pathogen identification

(EurekAlert) Life-threatening bacterial infections cause tens of thousands of deaths every year in North America. Increasingly, many infections are resistant to first-line antibiotics. Unfortunately, current methods of culturing bacteria in the lab can take days to report the specific source of the infection, and even longer to pinpoint the right antibiotic that will clear the infection. There remains an urgent, unmet need for technologies that can allow bacterial infections to be rapidly and specifically diagnosed.
- June 13, 2013 |
- Filed Under Agents & Toxins, Countermeasures, Public Health, Research
Ebola’s secret weapon revealed

(VirtualMedicalCentre) Researchers have discovered the mechanism behind one of the Ebola virus’ most dangerous attributes: its ability to disarm the adaptive immune system. University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston scientists determined that Ebola short-circuits the immune system using proteins that work together to shut down cellular signaling related to interferon. Disruption of this activity, the researchers found, allows Ebola to prevent the full development of dendritic cells that would otherwise trigger an immune response to the virus.
- May 30, 2013 |
- Filed Under Agents & Toxins, International, Public Health, Research
Op-Ed – Improving Intelligence on Emerging Bioweapons Threats: New Engagements Needed Between Intelligence and Academia

Kathleen M. Vogel, Associate Professor, Department of Science and Technology Studies and the Judith Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies, Cornell University Since the end of the Cold War and the rise of asymmetric security threats, the U.S intelligence and policy communities have been increasingly concerned about new types of bioweapons attacks that might arise from a spectrum of state and non-state actors. In a 1995 U.S. Senate hearing, CIA official Gordon Oehler lamented that, “the increasingly troubled post–Cold War world has, in a curious way, made us yearn for the dark days of the 1960s and 1970s when we knew Read More »
- January 16, 2013 |
- Filed Under Biological Weapons, Bioterrorism, International, Policy & Initiatives
Op-Ed – With the Changing Biological threat…smart international engagement policy would lower cost and increase national security.

David R. Franz, DVM, Ph.D. Former Commander US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases “There is no technical solution…”: In 1998, after we understood the enormity of the Soviet offensive program and the potential of the Iraqi one to disrupt, Nobel Laureate Joshua Lederberg said, “There is no technical solution to this problem of biological warfare. It needs an ethical, human and moral solution, if it’s going to happen at all….” Then he paused and said, “But would an ethical or moral solution appeal to a sociopath?” The early days of the biological Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program were similar Read More »
- November 13, 2012 |
- Filed Under Biological Weapons, Countermeasures, International, Policy & Initiatives

Browse by region

Browse By Category

Simple Mutations Could Make Flu Viruses More Deadly

(USNews) Genetic mutations in two emerging “bird” flu viruses could turn them into potential sources of pandemics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers report. One expert who was not involved with the new studies, however, said virus changes that may take place in the lab don’t necessarily translate to a real-world threat. Read More »

June 10, 2013
| Filed under Agents & Toxins, Public Health, and Research
Share

Thailand expecting record number of dengue fever deaths

(TheSacramentoBee) Thailand is heading for a record-breaking number of dengue fever cases in 2013, having lost 44 people to the mosquito-transmitted virus already, officials warned Saturday. The health ministry predicts Thailand this year will see at least 100,000 dengue cases and more than 100 deaths, a three-fold increase from last year Read More »

June 10, 2013
| Filed under Asia/Pacific, North America, Agents & Toxins, International, and Public Health
Share

NBAF pits Obama vs. House Republicans in budget battle

(BovineVeterinarian) An epic budget battle between President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans escalated this week as the White House threatened to veto H.R. 2217. According to Lawrence-Journal World, the bill would make appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security for the fiscal year starting on Oct. 1. It also contains $404 Read More »

June 10, 2013
| Filed under North America, Agriculture, and Policy & Initiatives
Share

Studies showing how bird flu viruses could adapt to humans offer surveillance and vaccine strategies

(EurekAlert) Bird flu viruses are potentially highly lethal and pose a global threat, but relatively little is known about why certain strains spread more easily to humans than others. Two studies published by Cell Press June 6th in the journal Cell identify mutations that increase the infectivity of H5N1 and H7N9 Read More »

June 7, 2013
| Filed under Asia/Pacific, North America, Agents & Toxins, International, Public Health, and Research
Share

$18 million to study deadly secrets of flu, Ebola, West Nile viruses

(EurekAlert) In an effort to sort out why some viruses such as influenza, Ebola and West Nile are so lethal, a team of U.S. researchers plans a comprehensive effort to model how humans respond to these viral pathogens. The study will be led by Yoshihiro Kawaoka, a University of Wisconsin-Madison School Read More »