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By Category: Policy & Initiatives

David Hoffman: Why did they do it?

(Foreign Policy) Looking back, one of the most unsettling phenomenon of the Cold War was the extent to which the superpowers, locked in existential confrontation, failed to see each other clearly. From the bomber and missile “gaps” of the 1950s to the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, the so-called “window of vulnerability” of the late Read More »

June 19, 2012
| Filed under Asia/Pacific, Europe, North America, Agents & Toxins, Biological Weapons, International, and Policy & Initiatives
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EU Sets Restrictions on Dual-Use Exports to Syria

(Global Security Newswire) European Union nations as of Sunday were prohibited from exporting to Syria select products that could be used in the production of chemical or biological warfare agents. The European Council on Friday signed off on a set of bans and restrictions on sales of luxury and “dual-use” items to the Middle Eastern Read More »

June 19, 2012
| Filed under Europe, Middle East, Biological Weapons, International, and Policy & Initiatives
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FMD strain in Kyrgyzstan infects vaccinated livestock

(CattleNetwork.com) new strain of foot-and-mouth disease poses a serious threat to the livestock industry in Kyrgyzstan as a significant number of livestock have already been infected. The unknown strain of FMD discovered in the republic of Kyrgyzstan, bordering the northwest side of China, even infects vaccinated cattle. According to Global Meat News, farmers affected by Read More »

June 19, 2012
| Filed under Middle East, Agriculture, Countermeasures, and Policy & Initiatives
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DIY biology

(Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists) In the nineteenth century, research in the natural and life sciences was largely self-supported. Charles Darwin had the good fortune of being born into a wealthy family, enabling him to pursue his passions as a gentleman naturalist and to develop the trailblazing theory of evolution. Darwin’s good fortune ended up Read More »

June 19, 2012
| Filed under North America, Biotechnology, Policy & Initiatives, and Research
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Anthrax alert system at risk as cost estimate hits $5.7 billion

(Washington Post) Funding for BioWatch, an early warning system to detect deadly pathogens in 30 U.S. cities, may be in jeopardy after cost estimates surged to $5.7 billion, six times the initial assessment. The Department of Homeland Security wants to open bidding before October on the next phase of the program, which monitors the air Read More »