CBR Weapons and WMD Terrorism News- June 27, 2008

Avalanche Photodiodes Target Bioterrorism Agents
“Researchers have shown that a new class of ultraviolet photodiode could help meet the U.S. military's pressing requirement for compact, reliable and cost-effective sensors to detect anthrax and other bioterrorism agents in the air.” (Medical News Today; 27June08) http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/112926.php

Viruses rewritten
“A gene by any other name is not quite the same, and scientists could exploit that fact to develop new vaccines for viral diseases, research suggests. By ‘misspelling’ the genetic code of the virus that causes polio so that the virus still reproduced but did so a thousand times slower than normal, researchers created a weakened version of the virus that trained mice’s immune systems to fight off the real one.” (Science News; 26June08; Patrick Barry) http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/33671/title/Viruses_rewritten

CDC faces challenge of aging work force
“More than a quarter of workers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta — and more than a third of its medical officers — will be eligible to retire in the next five years. Replacing them will be difficult because of a national shortage of public health professionals, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office.” (Atlanta Journal-Constitution; 27June08; Alison Young) http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/06/27/cdc_workers.html

NEOUCOM [Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy], KSU [Kent State University] get bioterrorism grant
“Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy and Kent State University have been awarded $6.7 million for the continued development and commercialization of a real-time pathogen detection instrument.” (Vindy; 27June08) http://www.vindy.com/news/2008/jun/27/colleges-receive-grant-for-bioterror-detection/

Smiths Detection Launches Smart Trigger For Biological Agent Detection
“Smiths Detection, part of the global technology business Smiths Group, announced the launch of SmartBio™ Sensor (SBS), a real-time detector for biological agents or airborne toxins. SBS provides a visual or audio alarm when a bio-threat is detected and classifies the agent by threat category.” (Medical News Today; 27June08) http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/112951.php

Arthur Galston, botanist, died on June 15th, aged 88
“If you had asked him, on one of his visits to Vietnam in those years, whether Agent Orange was directly responsible for the sarcomas, lesions and deformities, he would have replied, like the careful scientist he was, that it was hard to make a connection solid enough to stand up in a court of law. But three things he was sure of. First, Agent Orange had caused ‘an ecological disaster’ that might take decades to repair. Second, its use contravened the Geneva protocols against chemical and biological warfare. And third, he had a responsibility to speak, because this agent of horror was partly his child.” (The Economist; 26June08)
http://www.economist.com/obituary/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11613789

Iran: US should disarm chemical weapons
"‘The Islamic Republic of Iran is a main victim of chemical warfare as Iraq attacked the country for eight years using weapons of mass destruction. Iran expects the international community to bring war criminal to justice and force major powers, including the US and the occupying regime of al-Quds [Jerusalem], to take practical steps in fulfilling their international obligations, particularly concerning chemical disarmament,’ reads a statement released Friday by Iran's Foreign Ministry.” (Press TV; 27June08)
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=61673&sectionid=351020101

Hanford Nuclear Services, Inc. (HNS) to sell US Patent 6805815, Unique ‘Dirty Bomb’ Cleanup Polymer
“Hanford Nuclear Services, Inc. (HNS), a leading research and advisory firm for the nuclear and environmental industries, announces the sale of US Patent 6805815, ‘Composition For Shielding Radioactivity’ through a website that offers access to patent, test data, an applications presentation, and portable deployment system information (http://hns.adventdes.com).” (STL Today; 25June08)
http://www.stltoday.com/pr/business/PR06250807471293

N. Korea declares nuclear program, but what's next?
“The Bush administration hailed North Korea's declaration of its nuclear program as a success for the multilateral diplomacy it engaged in through the Six Party Talks with South Korea, China, Japan and Russia. […] But as important as what the document says is what it doesn't say. There is no mention of how many weapons North Korea has or where they are hidden. Nor did North Korea admit to a suspected uranium enrichment program or what nuclear secrets it may have shared with Syria. Both issues are reduced in the declaration to ‘concerns’ which Pyongyang promises to address down the road.” (CNN; 27June08; Elise Labott) http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/06/26/nkorea.nuclear.negotiating/

Ensuring public safety
“Interpol is the world's largest international police organization, with 186 member countries. Created in 1923, it facilitates cross-border police co-operation, and supports and assists all organizations, authorities and services whose mission is to prevent or combat international crime. Terrorism poses a grave threat to individuals' lives and national security around the world. Interpol has therefore made available various resources to support member countries in their efforts to protect their citizens from terrorism, including bio-terrorism; firearms and explosives; attacks against civil aviation; maritime piracy; and weapons of mass destruction.”
(The New Nation; 27June08)
http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2008/06/27/news0679.htm

CNS ChemBio-WMD Terrorism News is prepared by the Chemical and Biological Weapons Nonproliferation Program of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in order to bring timely and focused information to researchers and policymakers interested in the fields of chemical, biological, and radiological weapons nonproliferation and WMD terrorism.