The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has released an update of procedures first published in 1982 governing intelligence activities. DoD Manual 5240.01, "Procedures Governing the Conduct of DoD Intelligence Activities," authorizes certain members of the intelligence community to collect, retain, or disseminate information about U.S. persons.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response announced a $4.1 million agreement with Hologic Inc. of Marlborough, Massachusetts, to advance the development of a blood screening test that will help detect the presence of Zika in the blood supply.
In work that aims to protect soldiers from biological and chemical threats, a team of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists has created a material that is highly breathable yet protective from biological agents. This material is the first key component of futuristic smart uniforms that also will respond to and protect from environmental chemical hazards.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate announced that the Next-Generation Incident Command System (NICS) is now available worldwide. NICS is a mobile, web-based communication platform that enables responders on scene at a developing incident to request and receive assistance from remote experts in real time.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is working to combat electronic jamming of first responders' radio communications systems by enhancing jamming prevention, detection and mitigation technologies.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, has launched a clinical trial of a vaccine candidate intended to prevent Zika virus infection. The early-stage study will evaluate the experimental vaccine's safety and ability to generate an immune system response in participants.
The triggering of small, deep earthquakes along California's San Andreas Fault reveals depth-dependent frictional behavior that may provide insight into patterns signaling when a major quake could be on the horizon. The study reports that the deepest part of California's 800-mile-long San Andreas Fault is weaker than expected and produces small earthquakes in response to tidal forces.
A study by University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) life scientists could be a major step toward combating drug-resistant infections. The research found that combinations of three different antibiotics can often overcome bacteria's resistance to antibiotics, even when none of the three antibiotics on their own - or even two of the three together - is effective.
Fire season is in full swing in the driest parts of the United States, and capabilities of National Nuclear Security Administration's (NNSA) laboratories are helping equip firefighters in the battle to save property and environment. A long history of adapting to climate change has prepared NNSA researchers for a cascade of climate-related impacts.
Jointly, Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) and CBI Polymer researchers are exploring how a HydroGel can be modified to decontaminate surfaces contaminated with biological, radiological, and toxic contaminants, such as spores of Bacillus anthracis, which are capable of causing anthrax disease in humans and animals.
