Recent News

By Category: Policy & Initiatives

USDA Provides $332411 to Guam for Pest, Plant Disease Management

(Pacific News Center) Guam – Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo has announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has provided $332,411 to Guam for plant health management and the prevention of pests and spread of plant diseases. This funding includes $221,607 for coconut Rhinoceros Beetle Eradication, and $110,804 for the Customs Biosecurity Initiative.

May 28, 2012
| Filed under Asia/Pacific, North America, Agriculture, International, and Policy & Initiatives
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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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Additional Forensic Investigation of 2001 Anthrax Attacks

(Clinicians’ Biosecurity News) The FBI’s conclusion that USAMRIID scientist Dr. Bruce Ivins perpetrated the anthrax attacks of 2001 is largely built on an extensive microbial forensics investigation. That investigation linked the spores found in recovered letters to material contained in a flask labeled “RMR-1029” that was under Dr. Ivins’ control.