June 2014 Website
Download 6.99 Mb.
|
- Navigate this page:
- Published 28 February 2014
- Using a virus known as a “bioluminescent reporter phage,”
- Published 29 May 2014
- “A high-tech bioweapon could cost only $1 million to build
- Pigs and Birds form terror cell and unleash biological warfare on unsuspecting North Americans
From a zebra carcass on the plains of Namibia in Southern Africa, researchers have discovered a new, unusually large virus (or bacteriophage) which infects the bacterium that causes anthrax. The novel bacteriophage could eventually open up new ways to detect, treat, or decontaminate the anthrax bacillus and its relatives that cause food poisoning. Bacteriophages are often highly specific to a particular strain of bacteria, and when they were first discovered in the early twentieth century there was strong interest in them as antimicrobial agents. The discovery of penicillin and other antibiotics, however, eclipsed phage treatments in the West, although research continued in the Soviet Union. Faster anthrax detection could speed bioterror response Published 28 February 2014 Source: http://www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com/dr20140228-faster-anthrax-detection-could-speed-bioterror-response The fall 2011 anthrax attacks cost $3.2 million in cleanup and decontamination. At the time, no testing system was in place that officials could use to screen the letters. Currently, first responders have tests that can provide a screen for dangerous materials in about 24-48 hours. Now, researchers have developed a new method for anthrax detection that can identify anthrax in only a few hours. Using a virus known as a “bioluminescent reporter phage,” Stewart and graduate student, Krista Spreng, tested the phage at the MU Laboratory for Infectious Disease Research. The phage, developed by David Schofield at Guild BioSciences, a biotech company in Charleston, South Carolina, is injected in the sample causing anthrax to glow if present. The team also found that the method can detect low levels of anthrax bacteria and rule out false positives. The added benefit to this reporting system is its ability to show if anthrax is present and whether or not the spores are alive, Stewart said. Scientists urge U.S. to do more to detect, prevent use of bioweapons Published 29 May 2014 Source: http://www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com/dr20140529-scientists-urge-u-s-to-do-more-to-detect-prevent-use-of-bioweapons Carefully targeted biological weapons could be as dangerous as nuclear weapons, so the United States should invest more resources in developing technologies to detect them, scientists say. What is especially worrisome is that “The advent of modern molecular genetic technologies is making it increasingly feasible to engineer bioweapons,” says one expert. “It’s making people with even moderate skills able to create threats they couldn’t before.” There is another worry: “A high-tech bioweapon could cost only $1 million to build,” the expert adds. “That’s thousands of times cheaper than going nuclear. Iran’s centrifuges alone cost them billions.” Researchers discover Achilles’ heel in antibiotic-resistant bacteria Source: http://www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com/dr20140620-researchers-discover-achilles-heel-in-antibioticresistant-bacteria Scientists at the University of East Anglia have made a breakthrough in the race to solve antibiotic resistance. New research published today in the journal Nature reveals an Achilles’ heel in the defensive barrier which surrounds drug-resistant bacterial cells. The findings pave the way for a new wave of drugs that kill superbugs by bringing down their defensive walls rather than attacking the bacteria itself. It means that in future, bacteria may not develop drug-resistance at all. 
A UEA release reports that the discovery does not come a moment too soon. The World Health Organization has warned that antibiotic-resistance in bacteria is spreading globally, causing severe consequences. Even common infections which have been treatable for decades can once again kill. Researchers investigated a class of bacteria called “Gram-negative bacteria’ which is particularly resistant to antibiotics because of its cells” impermeable lipid-based outer membrane.
Until now little has been known about exactly how the defensive barrier is built. The new findings reveal how bacterial cells transport the barrier building blocks (called lipopolysaccharides) to the outer surface. Group leader Prof. Changjiang Dong, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, said: “We have identified the path and gate used by the bacteria to transport the barrier building blocks to the outer surface. Importantly, we have demonstrated that the bacteria would die if the gate is locked.” “This is really important because drug-resistant bacteria is a global health problem. Many current antibiotics are becoming useless, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths each year. “The number of super-bugs are increasing at an unexpected rate. This research provides the platform for urgently-needed new generation drugs.” Lead author Ph.D. student Haohao Dong said: “The really exciting thing about this research is that new drugs will specifically target the protective barrier around the bacteria, rather than the bacteria itself. “Because new drugs will not need to enter the bacteria itself, we hope that the bacteria will not be able to develop drug resistance in future.”
Source:http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5533318 The CIA has issued the following photo: 
www.cbrne-terrorism-newsletter.com Directory: resources resources -> General text for tender (recommendations) for Pilkington Profilit™ Contents Page resources -> North Carolina Inclusion Initiative Mapping Where Children with ieps are Being Served Purpose resources -> Practice learning resources -> The Rise of Video Games Section “Word” Matt Spencer resources -> Request for proposal contract form for the transit industry resources -> Request for Proposal [insert date] resources -> The University of York 13th 16th April 2004 resources -> Biological and Biomedical Sciences Program Community Education Initiative resources -> Region III standing regional response team (rrt) meeting williamsburg, Virginia Thursday, January 12, 2012 resources -> Efca eastern District and TouchGlobal, the crisis response ministry of efca Download 6.99 Mb. Share with your friends:
|