Copyright 2009 Medical News Today Latest Bio-terrorism / Terrorism News From Medical News Today. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/bioterrorism/ admin@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Admin) editors@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Editors) en-us Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156280.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/156280.php Scientists are to study a group of proteins that are highly effective at killing bacteria and which could hold the key to developing new types of antibiotics. Researchers from the Universities of York and Leeds have been awarded £3.3m from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) to find out how a family of proteins known as colicins force their way into bacterial cells before destroying them. Bio-terrorism / Terrorism Sun, 28 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155539.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155539.php Veritide Ltd., a developer of innovative biological identification and detection solutions, today reported that new independent data to be presented at the Biodetection Technologies 2009 conference confirm the exceptional accuracy of its Ceeker™ (pronounced "seeker") portable bacterial detection device in discriminating between anthrax spores and similar-looking hoax substances. Bio-terrorism / Terrorism Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155365.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155365.php A thorough cost-benefit analysis that includes an assessment of meaningful alternatives is needed to reveal the potential security advantages of deploying new detector systems to screen cargo for nuclear and radiological materials at U.S. ports and border crossings. It is likely that the costs will exceed the savings gained from improved efficiency of the screening systems, says a new report from the National Research Council. There are shortcomings in the U.S. Bio-terrorism / Terrorism Fri, 19 Jun 2009 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154517.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154517.php A new National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) assay using a "glow or no glow" technique may soon help the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) defend the nation against a spectrum of biological weapons that could be used in a terrorist attack. One very dangerous toxin on the list is ricin, a protein derived from castor beans that is lethal in doses as small as 500 micrograms - about the size of a grain of salt. Bio-terrorism / Terrorism Thu, 18 Jun 2009 07:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154474.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154474.php Scott Roeder, who is charged with the murder of abortion provider George Tiller, and James von Brunn, who is charged with last week's shooting death of a Holocaust Memorial Museum guard, "appear to be murderers, not terrorists," Jonathan Turley, a professor of public interest law at Abortion Mon, 15 Jun 2009 07:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/153950.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/153950.php A new type of robot being developed will make it easier to detect drugs, weapons, explosives and illegal immigrants concealed in cargo containers. Dubbed the 'cargo-screening ferret' and designed for use at seaports and airports, the device is being worked on at the University of Sheffield with funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Alcohol / Addiction / Illegal Drugs Sun, 14 Jun 2009 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/153780.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/153780.php Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) announced that it has met with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to review Emergent's regulatory strategy for the development of its recombinant anthrax (rPA) vaccine. Bio-terrorism / Terrorism Fri, 12 Jun 2009 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/153571.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/153571.php Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) announced that its flagship product, BioThrax® (Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed), has been granted a shelf life extension from 3 to 4 years by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Bio-terrorism / Terrorism Thu, 04 Jun 2009 06:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/152603.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/152603.php A promising antimicrobial agent already known to kill bacteria can also kill viruses and stimulate the innate immune system, according to researchers at National Jewish Health. In a paper appearing online June 4 in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, Michael Howell, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, and his colleagues demonstrated that the synthetic compound CSA-13 can kill vaccinia virus in cell cultures and in mice. Immune System / Vaccines Wed, 03 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/152324.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/152324.php PharmAthene, Inc. (NYSE Amex: PIP), a biodefense company developing medical countermeasures against biological and chemical threats, announced that it has submitted a proposal to the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) in response to a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA-BARDA-09-34) for advanced research and development of medical countermeasures for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats. Bio-terrorism / Terrorism Tue, 02 Jun 2009 07:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/152267.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/152267.php High-throughput whole-genome analysis is becoming a standard laboratory approach for investigating cellular processes. Next-generation sequencing is replacing microarrays as the technique of choice for genome-scale analysis, because it offers advantages in both sensitivity and scale. Genetics Sat, 23 May 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/151123.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/151123.php The widely-used Affymetrix Whole-Transcript Gene 1.0 ST (sense target) microarray platform, normally used to assay gene expression, can also be utilized to interrogate exon-specific splicing. Research published in the open access journal BMC Bioinformatics shows scientists how to monitor alternative splicing activity on a genome-wide scale, without investing in new exon microarray technologies. Genetics Wed, 20 May 2009 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/150756.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/150756.php Research conducted seven years after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York City (NYC) found that children attending the socioeconomically and ethnically homogeneous elementary school closest to Ground Zero have high rates of self-reported asthma and airway obstruction. The research was presented on Tuesday, May 19 at the American Thoracic Society's 105th International Conference in San Diego. Respiratory / Asthma Wed, 13 May 2009 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/149867.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/149867.php Although most Americans take the safety of their drinking water for granted, that ordinary tap water could become deadly within minutes, says Prof. Abraham Katzir of Tel Aviv University's School of Physics and Astronomy. To combat the threat of contamination due to industrial spillage, natural disaster or sabotage, the physicist has developed a new system to monitor the safety of a building or community's water supply in real time. Bio-terrorism / Terrorism Wed, 13 May 2009 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/149813.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/149813.php The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded UC Irvine $45 million over five years for infectious disease research. The renewal grant, which is the campus's largest ever, went to the Pacific-Southwest Regional Center of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases Research and its director, Dr. Alan Barbour, a UCI infectious disease expert. Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses Tue, 12 May 2009 07:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/149760.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/149760.php Nearly one in 12 people exposed to terrorism report increased use and misuse of alcohol, according to researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and the University of Michigan. In a study published in the June issue of the journal Addiction, investigators combined data from 31 studies conducted in the aftermath of such incidents as the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the Oklahoma City Bombings of 1995, and the Intifada uprisings in Israel. Bio-terrorism / Terrorism Mon, 11 May 2009 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/149568.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/149568.php Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) announced the launch of http://www.biothrax.com, a website that provides information about BioThrax® (Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed), the only vaccine licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the prevention of anthrax infection. This new website educates visitors about key information on BioThrax, including published data and updates to prescribing information. Bio-terrorism / Terrorism Sat, 09 May 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/149393.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/149393.php How can we better protect rescue workers when they are deployed in a catastrophe - or find avalanche victims more efficiently? Fraunhofer researchers are currently working on a localization solution that combines satellite-based positioning with terrestrial guidance tools and situation-based sensor systems (such as integrated toxic gas sensors). IT / Internet / E-mail Thu, 07 May 2009 05:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/149229.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/149229.php A team led by researchers at MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory has now pinpointed the exact gene responsible for a 2007 breakthrough in which mice with symptoms of Alzheimer's disease regained long-term memories and the ability to learn. Alzheimer's / Dementia Wed, 06 May 2009 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/148907.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/148907.php A new approach to analyzing social networks, reported in the current issue of the International Journal of Services Sciences, could help homeland security find the covert connections between the people behind terrorist attacks. The approach involves revealing the nodes that act as hubs in a terrorist network and tracing back to individual planners and perpetrators. Bio-terrorism / Terrorism Thu, 30 Apr 2009 05:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/148277.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/148277.php A recent study in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management shows that as a result of a variety of interior enforcement initiatives implemented in 2002-2005, such as the ramping up of the Social Security no-match program, employers' demand for undocumented workers fell. This led to an erosion of the wages and employment opportunities of recent low-education male immigrants from Latin America with potentially negative implications for U.S. taxpayers. Public Health Thu, 30 Apr 2009 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/148228.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/148228.php When two camera prototypes were tested in a bombing last month aboard a mass transit bus, not only was the Transportation Security Administration interested, so were the cities of New York, Washington, Chicago, and Seattle. Bio-terrorism / Terrorism Fri, 24 Apr 2009 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/147300.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/147300.php Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) announced today that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued an additional amendment to its request for proposal for an Anthrax Recombinant Protective Antigen (rPA) Vaccine for the Strategic National Stockpile. Immune System / Vaccines Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/146709.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/146709.php A drug currently under development at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine protects cells from the damaging effects of radiation exposure, a new study suggests. Results of the study, Abstract Number 3456, are being presented at the 100th annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), April 18 to 22 in Denver. The study, led by Joel Greenberger, M.D. Radiology / Nuclear Medicine Sun, 19 Apr 2009 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/146538.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/146538.php Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) announced that late on April 15th, HHS requested that each bidder in the competitive range for the rPA contract submit its product development plans to FDA for review in advance of an award. Emergent had already requested and is presently scheduling a meeting with the FDA as part of its pre-award activity. The Company intends to incorporate any FDA comments into its rPA development plan. Immune System / Vaccines