Secret of smallpox's success may lead to bioterror cure
In disease, as in war, offensive strategies can become weaknesses, if the defenders see the enemy coming and compensate for its weapons. By manipulating what is perhaps the most devastating trick in cellular weaponry of pox viruses like smallpox, Arizona State University virologist and Biodesign Institute researcher Bertram Jacobs believes that he can turn the biochemical machinery of the...Discovery could be key to bioterrorism defense
A collaborative research team from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), the Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) have made a major breakthrough in efforts to combat two deadly viruses that could be engineered for use as bioweapons. The team isolated the functional receptor for the Nipah and Hendra viruses--naturally occurrin...Tiny avalanche photodiodes target bioterrorism agents
After the anthrax attacks in the United States in 2001 the threat of a larger and more deadly bioterrorism attack -- perhaps from smallpox, plague or tularemia -- became very real. But the ability to detect such biological agents and rapidly contain an attack is still being developed. In a significant finding, researchers at Northwestern University's Center for Quantum Devices have demonst...New vaccine platform may fight infections with causes from influenza to bioterrorism
The development of effective vaccines for people with compromised immune systems may be feasible after all, according to a team of researchers, who demonstrated their approach could protect against pneumocystis pneumonia in mice lacking the same population of immune cells that HIV destroys in humans. The vaccine platform developed by Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh researchers, working in colla...Mass vaccination unnecessary in the event of a large bioterrorist US smallpox attack
Mass vaccination would not be necessary in the event of a large-scale smallpox bioterrorist attack in the United States, according to a study led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center that appears online in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases. Instead, the current U.S. government policy of post-release surveillance, prompt containment of victims and vaccinat...Medical College lands $8.1M grant to detect bird flu, bioterror agents
The grant, which was awarded by the <a href="http...Diamond Film May Enable Critical New Sensors For Bioterror
MADISON - In this time of the chronic threat of terrorism and the possibility of war with an adversary who may be armed with biological weapons, high on the wish list of security agencies and battlefield commanders is a quick and easy way to detect the presence of dangerous biological agents. Now, with the help of a novel diamond film developed by chemists at the University of Wisconsin-...OpGen Database Helps to Reduce Bioterrorist Threat
MADISON, Wis. - The need to rapidly identify biological agents that could be used for bioterrorist attacks has led to the creation of a genome database map by One of the most inf...Wisconsin to Receive $25 Million for Bioterrorism
WASHINGTON - HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced that the Department of Health and Human Services has made available an additional $1.4 billion to increase the capacity of states, territories and metro areas to respond to terrorism and other public health emergencies. Wisconsin is scheduled to...Ricin Vaccine protection against bio-warfare and bioterrorism
Professor Ellen S. Vitetta, University of Texas is in the process of developing an effective vaccine against Ricin. Ricin is a very potent lethal toxin obtained from castor // beans and is considered as the most deadly toxin at very minute concentration. The researcher as published her results from a trial on effective protection obtained from her ricin vaccine in the Proceedings of the N...$ 8.1 Million Grant to Tackle Bioterrorism
Medical College of Wisconsin at Madison has been granted a whopping $8.1 million to develop a tool kit that would identify agents of bio terrorism// like the H5N1 virus. This was announced by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. It has been said that the Avian influenza or the H5N1 virus has the potential to become a pandemic. There is also a constant threat from t...Potential Threats of Bioterrorism
Since 2001, the government and the media have periodically alerted the American people to potential threats of bioterrorism. // Now, a team of researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has found that such messages measurably raise anxiety levels, which could pose adverse health effects. In their findings reported in the current issue of t...New Strains of TB Can Be Used as a Powerful Bioterror Weapon
Despite billions of dollars spent on national security in airports, a man infected with XDR (extensively drug resistant) tuberculosis was allowed to travel unhindered into the United States, underscoring how drug-resistant strains of the disease could be used in a bioterrorist attack against the U.S. The attention this story has been receiving over the past few days is no surprise,...