Eminent European and American Oncologists gathered today to discuss the state of EU/US preparedness in the case of a nuclear incident. Prof. Ray Powles chaired the meeting organized by the Nuclear Accident Committee (NAC) of the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT). He raised the...
Lithium Protects Brain Cells During Cranial Radiation
Improvement In Health Agencies’ Preparedness For Bioterror And Disease Outbreaks
A federal program designed to help metropolitan public health agencies prepare to deliver essential medicines to the public after a large-scale bioterror attack or natural disease outbreak has succeeded in improving the level of readiness, according to a new RAND Corporation study. Researchers found...
Science Behind Anthrax Investigation Featured In ASM Biodefense And Emerging Diseases Research Meeting
The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) will host its 2009 Biodefense and Emerging Diseases Research Meeting February 22-25, 2008 at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel in Baltimore, MD. The purpose of this meeting is to bring together individuals who are carrying out research to defend against...
UNICEF Calls For An End To LRA Abductions And Attacks In DR Congo
UNICEF called for an immediate end to abductions, forced recruitment and extreme violence against children and women in North-Eastern DRC. Returning from a mission to Dungu in the Haut-Uele District, Ms. Pierrette Vu Thi, UNICEF Representative in the DRC, called on actors to do everything possible to...
Blast-Resistant Concrete Tested By Scientists
Engineers at the University of Liverpool have tested a new form of concrete designed to reduce the impact of bomb blasts in public areas. The fibre-reinforced concrete was found to absorb a thousand times more energy than plain concrete and could therefore be used for bomb-proof litter bins and protection...
Lessons Learned: Revisiting The Anthrax Attacks
When anthrax was sent through the U.S. Postal Service in 2001, an overwhelming majority of postal workers elected not to be inoculated with the available vaccine because of confusion and distrust, according to a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health study. Although the FBI officially...
Medarex And PharmAthene Announce New Therapeutic Data For Anthrax Anti-Toxin, Valortim(R)
Medarex, Inc. (Nasdaq: MEDX), a leading monoclonal antibody company, and PharmAthene, Inc. (NYSE: PIP), a biodefense company developing medical countermeasures against biological and chemical threats, announced results from a pilot study showing that the anthrax anti-toxin, Valortim(R) (MDX-1303), enhanced...
Scientists Peer Into Heart Of Compound That May Detect Chemical, Biological Weapons
A light-transmitting compound that could one day be used in high-efficiency fiber optics and in sensors to detect biological and chemical weapons at long distance almost went undiscovered by scientists because its structure was too difficult to examine. Luckily, scientists from U.S. Department of Energy’s...
Most Developing Countries Ill-Equipped To Ensure Global Biosafety: UN University
A two-year UN study of internationally funded training programmes in biotechnology and biosafety warns that as many as 100 developing countries are unprepared to effectively manage and monitor the use of modern biotechnologies, leaving the world community open to serious biosafety threats. The report,...
Emergent BioSolutions Acquires Advanced Recombinant Protective Antigen Anthrax Vaccine Candidate And Technology
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE: EBS) announced that it has completed the acquisition of all assets and rights related to a recombinant protective antigen (rPA) anthrax vaccine product candidate and related technology from VaxGen, Inc. Recent improvements to the rPA vaccine, specifically related to...