A new diagnostic chip reduces testing time from days to one hour, allowing doctors to pick the right antibiotic the first time. Infectious bacteria or superbugs that do not respond to antibiotics kill an estimated 23,000 people in the United States each year. This device could transform a doctor's ability to treat infections and prevent a routine hospital stay from turning into a nightmare.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) broke ground to officially begin construction of the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) main laboratory structure in Manhattan, Kansas. The $1.25 billion NBAF will be a 570,000 sq. ft. biocontainment facility for studying diseases that threaten animal agriculture and public health.
A team led by National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) successfully conducted the fourth in a series of experiments designed to improve the nation's ability to detect underground nuclear explosions. The Source Physics Experiment (SPE-4 Prime) is a fundamental step forward in the effort to improve arms control verification and ensure compliance with the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) announced the selection of the University of Houston as the lead institution for a new DHS Center of Excellence for Borders, Trade, and Immigration Research. S&T will provide the Center for Borders, Trade, and Immigration Research with an initial $3.4 million grant for its first operating year.
The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law has added two specialties, crisis management and cybersecurity, to its growing Master of Laws program. Students have the opportunity to gain valuable hands-on, legal policy planning skills by working with top crisis responders and cybersecurity clients on real-world applications through the Center for Health and Homeland Security.
Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work ordered a comprehensive review of Department of Defense (DoD) laboratory procedures, processes, and protocols associated with inactivating spore-forming anthrax. This review was ordered due to the inadvertent shipments of inactivated samples containing small numbers of live anthrax to several laboratories.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate has signed an agreement with One Resonance Sensors, LLC to evaluate the company's MobiLab® ES checkpoint security scanner, which detects explosives in electronic devices. The agreement funds the evaluation of the scanner at a number of government facilities in the United States and Europe.
As a result of research performed by scientists at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of a drug to treat the deleterious effects of radiation exposure following a nuclear incident. The drug, Neupogen, is the first ever approved for the treatment of acute radiation injury.
PositiveID Corporation, a developer of biological detection and diagnostics solutions, recently announced that it has successfully detected influenza on its Firefly Dx breadboard prototype PCR (polymerase chain reaction) pathogen detection system, which is significantly faster than standard laboratory equipment and protocols, with results achieved in minutes instead of hours or days.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced a final rule for the safe transportation of flammable liquids by rail. The final rule, developed by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and Federal Railroad Administration, focuses on safety improvements that are designed to prevent accidents, mitigate consequences, and support emergency response.
