Recent News

By Category: Policy & Initiatives

Kansas biodefense facility should proceed, Agriculture Secretary Vilsack says

(Kansas.com) U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Tuesday that construction of the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility near Kansas State University should move forward and not be considered a “parochial” issue relevant only to Kansas. After a Landon Lecture Tuesday, Vilsack said having the proposed $650 million research facility was important to ensure the United Read More »

April 12, 2012
| Filed under North America, Agriculture, Policy & Initiatives, and Research
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NRC study to examine scientific options for NBAF

(Feedstuffs) Possible alternatives to the controversial National Bio & Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) will come under study by a new blue-ribbon panel at the National Research Council (NRC) beginning during the committee’s first public meeting on April 13. The committee is charged with conducting a new study to examine the “needs and possible scientific alternatives for Read More »

April 12, 2012
| Filed under North America, Agriculture, Policy & Initiatives, and Research
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OU Health Sciences Center awarded $490,000 grant

(Oklahoma Daily) The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has awarded a $490,000 grant to researchers at the OU Health Sciences Center. Researchers will study ways to improve identification of potential terrorist threats, according to a press release. “Law enforcement officers are transforming from first responders to first preventers serving on the front lines of counterterrorism,” Read More »

April 11, 2012
| Filed under North America, Bioterrorism, Policy & Initiatives, Public Health, and Research
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Post-mortem on mutant flu

(Nature.com) The dust is beginning to settle on the months-long controversy over two studies in which the H5N1 avian influenza virus was modified to be transmissible between mammals. But scientists and authorities still need to address the lack of international oversight for studies in which pathogens are deliberately made more dangerous, speakers emphasized at a Read More »

April 11, 2012
| Filed under Europe, North America, International, Policy & Initiatives, and Research
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Opinion: Misguided Science Policy?

(Scientist) In fact, our recent study of the political dynamics surrounding the recent site selection process for the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) suggested that using public meetings may actually promote policy choices that are diametrically opposed to public preferences.