Bioterrorism Week articles from April 2004

Bioterrorism Week archives from April 2004

SensorNet proposed as system to protect millions nationwide.
April 5, 2004... 2004 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Tennessee could become a model for the nation when it comes to protecting the public from chemical, biological or radiological releases. Already, sensors that are part of Oak Ridge National...

GyrB distinguishes members of Bacillus anthracis-cereus-thuringiensis group.
April 5, 2004... 2004 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The gyrB gene can be used to distinguish members of the Bacillus anthracis-cereus-thuringiensis group. "Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of the human disease anthrax, Bacillus cereus, a...

$5.9M contract awarded for development of biowarfare technology.
April 5, 2004... 2004 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Acacia Research Corporation (CBMX, ACTG) announced that its CombiMatrix Group has received a 2-year contract from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) that will provide $5.9 million to further the...

New brain test to spot trained terrorists.
April 5, 2004... 2004 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new test that taps brain records so accurately it caught a serial killer could soon be used to identify terrorists before they strike, including those in long-term sleeper cells. Whatever the...

ABthrax found to be safe and well tolerated.
April 5, 2004... 2004 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Human Genome Sciences, Inc., (HGSI) announced that the results of a phase I clinical trial demonstrate that ABthrax (human monoclonal antibody to Bacillus anthracis protective antigen) is safe and well...

Company announces new biodefense-related contract work.
April 5, 2004... 2004 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Commonwealth Biotechnologies, Inc., (CBTE) (CBI), a life sciences contract research organization and biotechnology company, announced execution of two major biodefense-related contracts valued at nearly...

U.S. to stockpile new vaccine.
April 5, 2004... 2004 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. government is planning to stockpile enough doses of an experimental new anthrax vaccine to inoculate 25 million people. Studies designed to prove whether this new vaccine is safe are still...

Biosensor rapidly identifies broad-range of infectious organisms.
April 5, 2004... 2004 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- RoboDesign International, Inc., has entered into an agreement with Isis Pharmaceuticals' Ibis program to design, develop, and manufacture commercial-ready, self-contained systems for the identification...

Vaccine may cause harmless skin rashes.
April 5, 2004... 2004 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- People who have never received a smallpox vaccination may develop any of a variety of benign skin rashes a few days after getting vaccinated for smallpox that should not be confused with a more serious...

Risk of vaccinia transfer after smallpox vaccination low.
April 5, 2004... 2004 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The risk of vaccinia transfer to the hands of vaccinated persons after smallpox immunization is very low if the vaccination site is properly bandaged. According to published research from the United...

CDC director says better tests are needed to stop outbreaks.
April 5, 2004... 2004 APR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Doctors in the United States are "woefully underprepared" to recognize the start of a disease outbreak or release of toxic chemicals, a top federal health official says. Better diagnostic tests are...

System could help spot biological warfare bugs.
April 12, 2004... 2004 APR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Government scientists at Porton Down, England, have developed biological sensors that could be used to detect biological warfare agents such as anthrax, the Society for General Microbiology's meeting...

Mouse model mimics real-world plague infection.
April 12, 2004... 2004 APR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An experimental plague vaccine proved 100% effective when tested in a new mouse model for plague infection developed by scientists at Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML), part of the National Institute...

New web-based system should improve Michigan's response time to outbreaks.
April 12, 2004... 2004 APR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- With the implementation of a new web-based system to share health information, the state of Michigan will be able to significantly improve response times in the event of a significant outbreak of...

ETI-204 prevents death from anthrax exposure in animals.
April 12, 2004... 2004 APR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists from Elusys Therapeutics, Inc., presented data showing that the company's anthrax antibody, ETI-204, provides complete protection from death due to anthrax exposure in two animal species and...

Effects of anthrax lethal toxin reviewed.
April 12, 2004... 2004 APR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The pathological effects of anthrax lethal toxin have been reviewed. "Anthrax lethal toxin is a multi-functional virulence factor that has evolved to target multiple host functions to allow for...

Researchers identify pattern of gene-expression changes for TB in a living host.
April 12, 2004... 2004 APR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the Center for Biomedical Inventions at the University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have identified the genetic changes that Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the...

Neil Agate named general manager of NetHealth Trust division.
April 12, 2004... 2004 APR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Health Pathways, Inc., a U.S.-based healthcare products and services holding company, announced the appointment of Neil Agate as general manager of the NetHealth Trust division of Health Pathways. ...

ImmuneRegen gets guidance from FDA and Division of Counter Terrorism officials.
April 12, 2004... 2004 APR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- ImmuneRegen BioSciences, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of IR BioSciences Holdings, Inc., (IRBH) announced it recently completed a meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) newly...

Fumigation technology inactivates chemical, biological agents in research.
April 19, 2004... 2004 APR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- STERIS Corporation (STE) and the United States Army's Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) announced the first demonstration of a fumigation technology effective at inactivating both chemical and...

Needle-free skin patch vaccination method for anthrax developed.
April 19, 2004... 2004 APR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists have developed a needle-free skin patch vaccination method for anthrax. "Three immunizations of mice with recombinant protective antigen (rPA) by transcutaneous immunization (TCI)...

Biothreat detection device funding secured by public-private collaboration.
April 19, 2004... 2004 APR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Ionian Technologies, Inc., has been awarded a $2.7 million contract for development of a rapid, hand-held biothreat detector. The device will have applications with military and civilian first...

Funding secured for hand-held biothreat detection device.
April 19, 2004... 2004 APR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Ionian Technologies, Inc., has been awarded a $2.7 million contract for development of a rapid, hand-held biothreat detector. The device will have applications with military and civilian...

FDA requests additional study of Homspera.
April 19, 2004... 2004 APR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- During the March 12, 2004, meeting with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration's (FDA) division of counterterrorism, ImmuneRegen was requested to conduct an additional mouse study utilizing its...

Successful smallpox vaccine trial announced.
April 19, 2004... 2004 APR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- SIGA Technologies, Inc., (SIGA) announced a successful smallpox vaccine trial using SIGA's proprietary live vector vaccine delivery system. In the study, mice immunized intranasally/orally with...

Genome sequence reveals leaner, meaner intestinal parasite.
April 19, 2004... 2004 APR 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cryptosporidium parvum - an insidious, one-celled, water-borne parasite that lodges in the intestines of infected people and animals and for which there is currently no effective treatment - is missing...

Comprehensive study: We know little about environment's effects on kids.
April 26, 2004... 2004 APR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An unprecedented effort to compile everything the medical and scientific community knows about how children differ from adults in terms of their biologic vulnerability to environmental agents such as...

Physicians, nurses and U.S. government release new food-borne illness guide.
April 26, 2004... 2004 APR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Americans' vulnerability to food-borne illness has been highlighted by large outbreaks over the last 2 years. To increase awareness, a new educational guide for health care professionals on how to...

Stem cell banking programs to be developed for Homeland Security.
April 26, 2004... 2004 APR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Phase III Medical, Inc., (PHSM) has entered into a joint venture agreement with NeoStem, Inc., to develop a stem cell banking program and strategy for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the...

Adefovir selectively inhibits factor key to anthrax pathogenesis.
April 26, 2004... 2004 APR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Adefovir, a hepatitis B treatment, has been found to inhibit anthrax edema factor. "Edema factor (EF), a key virulence factor in anthrax pathogenesis, has calmodulin (CaM)-activated adenylyl...

IND application submitted to FDA for ToxBlox anthrax infection treatment.
April 26, 2004... 2004 APR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- PharmAthene, Inc., has filed an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to initiate human clinical trials of ToxBlox, a novel protein, initially...

Biotech firm signs broad teaming agreement with DynPort Vaccine.
April 26, 2004... 2004 APR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Commonwealth Biotechnologies, Inc., (CBTE), a life sciences contract research organization and biotechnology company, announced that it has entered into a 2-year Broad Teaming Agreement with DynPort...

Revenues increase 194% for NanoMask maker.
April 26, 2004... 2004 APR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Emergency Filtration Products, Inc., (EFP, EMFP) reported that revenues rose 194% to $764,025 for the period ended Dec. 31, 2003, compared to $260,215 for the year ended Dec. 31, 2002. For the...

Researchers call for better infection control training.
April 26, 2004... 2004 APR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Emergency workers need better training to keep infections from spreading, researchers from Saint Louis University told legislators April 5, 2004. Paramedics often do not have proper training to...

Lab discovers way to keep short-lived catalysts active for longer than 5 months.
April 26, 2004... 2004 APR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Enzymes, the workhorses of chemical reactions in cells, lead short and brutal lives. They cleave and assemble proteins and metabolize compounds for a few hours, and then they are spent. This sad...