Morphotek Awarded DARPA Challenge Grant to Develop Anti-Biowarfare Therapies

September 15 - Morphotek Inc. has been awarded a $6.3 million challenge grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to apply its proprietary morphogenics technology to develop anti-biowarfare therapies, the company said today. Read more.

NEW PRODUCTS: Berkeley Nucleonics Adds Two New Instruments to Line of Personal Radiation Detectors

Berkeley Nucleonics Corporation yesterday announced the addition of two new instruments to its line of advanced personal radiation detectors, the NukeALERT II 1703M personal radiation detector (PRD) and the palmRAD 1621M Dosimeter. Designed for the nontechnical user, both are highly sensitive radiation monitors that can discreetly detect and measure gamma radiation and then alert the operator through a vibration or audible alarm. Read more.

FDA Gives Fast Track Status to Three Biodefense Vaccine Programs From Computer Sciences' DVC Company

September 14 - Three biodefense vaccine development programs from DVC, a Computer Sciences Corporation company, have been granted "Fast Track" status by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Read more.

'CODE RED' Survey Finds Most Emergency Leaders More Concerned about Natural Disaster than Terrorist Attack

September 6 -- Four years after terrorists attacked the United States, about 46 percent of 200 emergency response leaders say their organizations have made little or no improvement in emergency preparedness, according to a nationwide survey, "CODE Red: The State of Emergency Preparedness." Read more.

Genencor Receives DARPA Grant to Develop Process for Rapid Manfacture of Emergency Pharmaceuticals

August 29 - Genencor International today announced a grant from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop a process for rapid manufacture of emergency pharmaceuticals to defend against biological agents. Read more.

Federal Court Rules that DHS Policy of Withholding Green Cards 'Arbitrary and Capricious'

August 25 - A federal court in San Francisco granted summary judgment in favor of a nationwide class of lawful permanent residents who to date have been denied documentary proof of their lawful status, or "green cards." Read more.

AccuSoft Imaging Technology Tapped by DHS US-VISIT Program

August 23 - AccuSoft Corporation today announced that its ImageGear imaging technology is being used by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as part of its US-VISIT border protection program. Read more.

Army Airborne Battalion Heading for Afghanistan in Advance of National Elections

An Army airborne infantry battalion will be deployed to Afghanistan within the next two weeks to help fight terrorism in the weeks preceding the September National Assembly and Provincial Council elections, according to the American Forces Press Service.

About 700 members of 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, are expected to deploy from Fort Bragg, N.C. The unit returned from Iraq in March after deploying there in December to provide security for the January elections in that country.

Elections for Afghanistan's National Assembly and provincial councils are scheduled for Sept. 18.

Former HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson Joins Board of VeriChip

Former Health & Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson has joined the board of directors of VeriChip Corporation, a subsidiary of Applied Digital.

VeriChip provides both implanted and external RFID security solutions and offers the first and only FDA-cleared, human-implantable RFID microchip.

"We are all well aware of the need to enhance information technology in healthcare. It is my belief that VeriChip is an important and secure means of accessing medical records and other information. I look forward to working with the company as it continues its growth," said Thompson, a former governor of Wisconsin.

Dynavax Presents Data on Its Anthrax Vaccine

Detected spores glow when exposed to ultraviolet light; bottom, a bacterial spore. NASA/JPL

Dynavax Technologies' immunostimulatory sequence (ISS)-based anthrax vaccine may have the potential to provide higher levels of immunity and could be a "potent new vaccine approach for anthrax," the company said following a presentation of its study at the 2005 American Society for Microbiology's Biodefense Research meeting. The study was supported by a three-and-a-half year, $3.7 million grant to Dynavax from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The 2003 award supports research and development of an advanced anthrax vaccine. Read more...

Nearly Extinct Mushroom May Prove Effective Against 'Weaponized' Pox Virus

Recent in vitro tests show that an extract from an ancient mushroom -- Fomitopsis officinalis -- could be an antidote to "weaponized" viruses such as pox, according to Fungi Perfecti, a research lab in Kamilche Point, Wash. Read more...