TweetThe United States government released a new policy on Thursday requiring federal agencies to systematically review the possible risks connected with federally funded studies that involve 15 pathogens and toxins considered potentially dangerous. The list of high consequence toxins and … Read More

TweetWouter Basson, the cardiologist facing charges for his conduct as the head of apartheid South Africa’s chemical warfare research program, said on Monday that his involvement was an effort to save lives. Basson spoke of the violence that occurred frequently … Read More

TweetWouter Basson, a cardiologist charged with involvement in South Africa’s apartheid government’s biological and chemical warfare program, testified on Tuesday that Nelson Mandela re-appointed him to the South African National Defense Force. Basson told a professional conduct committee that the … Read More

TweetThree farm workers from Farm Kroonster 448 in Namibia’s Omaheke Region died from an anthrax-related illness in the Gobabis State Hospital last week. It is believed that five workers from the farm contracted anthrax after eating meat of a cow … Read More

TweetA married couple, both of whom are U.S. Army research biologists, is working to bolster the ability of soldiers to identify, detect and protect against potentially deadly biological threat agents. Mark and Jody Gostomski’s research at the Edgewood Chemical Biological … Read More

TweetThe U.S. Department of Homeland Security is struggling financially with the need for new facilities and the need to continue to fund its critical missions. The DHS currently does not have enough money to pay for the new National Bio … Read More

TweetThe Army has scrapped plans to construct a high-security animal research laboratory that would have helped speed biodefense drug and vaccine approval for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration at Fort Detrick. The program will be folded into another facility … Read More

TweetMail carriers in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota, will deliver empty pill bottles to approximately 35,000 homes on May 6 to test a program that would deliver antibiotics in the event of an anthrax attack. U.S. Postal Service carriers will … Read More

TweetThe Positive ID Corporation, a company that develops airborne bio-threat detection systems, announced on Tuesday that it has been awarded a patent for its Dragonfly Rapid MDx Cartridge-based diagnostic system for molecular biological diagnostics. The system allows for the results … Read More

TweetCalvin Chue, a new hire at the U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, is proposing new ideas to improve the ability of service members to detect chemical and biological threats in the field. In one proposed project, Chue is working … Read More

TweetAccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, labs that work with hazardous substances such as Ebola and smallpox do not have to share specific information with the public. Members of the Frederick, Maryland-based Containment Lab Community Advisory Committee … Read More

TweetFederal and local investigators in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, have determined that an envelope sent to an office building that contained a strange white powder last Friday meant no harm. Approximately 200 workers were evacuated from the Lancaster County Assistance office on … Read More

TweetA recently released tape recording by the CIA has revealed that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein met with his staff to discuss weapons of mass destruction in January 1991. At the time, President George H.W. Bush had just delivered an ultimatum … Read More

TweetThe more than 200 mishaps reported at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick in 2010 and 2011 will be used to determine safer practices at the labs in the future. The number of incidents … Read More

TweetWhen compared with the biological warfare defenses of the United States, South Korea’s capabilities to deal with the smallpox virus fall well short despite North Korea’s biological weapons capacity. In a defense white paper, the Ministry of National Defense said … Read More

TweetLaw enforcement agencies are looking into why multiple schools in the state of Connecticut received envelopes this week containing suspicious white powder. The incidents are similar to those that occurred throughout the country and caught the attention of the FBI. … Read More

TweetAdel Mohamed Nagi Arnaout, nicknamed the Vendetta bomber, was sentenced to an indefinite prison term on Wednesday in Ontario, Canada, for planned terrorist acts, including attempted poisonings, letter bombings and exploding packages. Ontario Superior Court Judge Todd Ducharme pronounced Arnaout … Read More

TweetSmallholder farmers in Africa and other developing nations have been battling disease control for animal and plant safety with approximately $575 million lost in annual export revenue due to diseases like foot and mouth, which also pose threats as bioweapons. … Read More

TweetA senior U.S. lawmaker has publicly joined the debate over two controversial studies that demonstrated the process of altering the H5N1 avian influenza transmissible between mammals. Representative Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), the vice chair of the House Committee on Science, Space … Read More

TweetThe Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals ran a three day drill this week in cities throughout the state to test the state’s public health response to distributing life-saving medication during an emergency. The simulation was the release of anthrax. … Read More

TweetOfficials in Marin County, California, have proposed shutting down the county’s public health laboratory, which is used to test for anthrax and other bioterrorism agents, as an attempt to cut costs. On March 27, Larry Meredith, the director of the … Read More

TweetThe United States will focus on bio-security, radiological security and other important areas as the chair of the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction in 2012. Bonnie Jenkins, an ambassador who is the coordinator … Read More

TweetThe Marlborough, Massachusetts-based Block MEMS LLC announced on Monday that it has garnered an Army Small Business Innovative Research Phase II enhancement contract for its LaserScan analyzer that can detect chemical warfare agents. The contracts will enable Block MEMS to … Read More

TweetFire officials in Prince William County, Virginia, have debuted a new 42,740 pound, 33 foot long vehicle known as the Hazmat 506 unit to replace an older, smaller truck. The new unit now has the space for multiple tools used … Read More

TweetA leading scientific journal recently reported that publishing two controversial avian influenza studies in full would add little to what has already been made available in scientific literature. The World Health Organization, which recently hosted a group of public health … Read More

TweetA subsidiary of PositiveID Corporation, a medical device and diagnostic developer, announced on Tuesday that it will present its Microfluidics-based Bioagent Autonomous Networked Detector system at a biodefense research meeting in February in Washington D.C. MicroFluidic Systems will present the … Read More

TweetImmnovaccine Inc., a vaccine development company, announced on Wednesday that it has begun a research collaboration to advance the creation of the next generation of biodefense vaccines against the most dangerous biological agents. The candidates will be assessed as part … Read More

TweetAccording to a terrorism expert, a low-tech biological attack on the cattle industry of the United States using virulent foot and mouth disease may be a simple way for terrorists to damage the economy. According to an article in the … Read More

TweetThe government of India has approved the formation of a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear materials center that will manage potential CBRN disasters. The center will be established by the Defense Research and Development Organization. The DRDO has developed more … Read More

TweetA decontamination foam developed by Sandia National Laboratories, which was created over a decade ago and was used to decontaminate buildings during the 2001 anthrax attacks, is now being used to decontaminate methamphetamine labs. Mark Tucker, a co-creator of the … Read More