NIAID July 20, 2022 NIAID and its partners under the Chemical Countermeasures Research Program (CCRP) invite applications for the early-stage development of therapeutics and medical countermeasures (MCMs) to mitigate the adverse health effects resulting from toxic chemical exposure, including validation of therapeutic targets and preclinical characterization of lead compounds. Through the funding opportunity announcement (FOA) CCRP Initiative: Countermeasures Against Chemical Threats (CounterACT) Therapeutics Discovery and Early-Stage Development (UG3/UH3, Clinical Trial Not Allowed), the ultimate aim is to generate well-characterized therapeutic candidates that may one day advance the nation’s medical and public health preparedness for, response to, and recovery from chemical-related […]
Tag Archives: WMD
Protein that could prevent chemical warfare attack created
Phys.org September 1, 2022 The creation of proteins that use specific, sensitive, real-time biological recognition detection methods for VX neurotoxin using directed evolution or library screening methods has been hampered because its toxicity makes laboratory experimentation extraordinarily expensive. A team of researchers in the US (the City College of New York, the State University of New Jersey, Clarkson University) designed the protein to have a cavity at its center that matched the precise shape and chemical composition of VX. The protein underwent a dramatic shape change, burying VX in the cavity. The shape change is the signal which could be […]
Biodefense Headlines – 12 July 2022
Global Biodefense July 12,022 This week’s selections include reforming international legal frameworks for outbreak reporting; LRN monkeypox testing in the US; ISIS chemical weapons ambitions; and Chikungunya VLP vaccine development….read more.
Researchers create VX neurotoxin detector
Science Direct July 6, 2022 A team of researchers in the US (City College of New York, The State University of New Jersey, Clarkson University) designed a pair of VX-binding proteins using a supercharged scaffold that coupled a large-scale phase change from unstructured to folded upon ligand binding, enabling fully internal binding sites that present the maximum surface area possible for high affinity and specificity in target recognition. Binding site residues were chosen using a new distributed evolutionary algorithm implementation in protCAD. Both designs detected VX at parts per billion concentrations with high specificity. Computational design of fully buried molecular […]
A New Age of Bioterror: Anticipating Exploitation of Tunable Viral Agents
CTC at West Point APRIL 2022, VOLUME 15, ISSUE 4 According to a team of researchers in the US (Boston College, US Military Academy, West Point, Brooke Army Medical Center) scientists are employing gene editing tools to cure genetic diseases, reduce the effects of climate change, and generate sustainable food sources. These same tools, however, can be used to modify pathogens to develop and deploy novel biological weapons. The nature of these tools and our understanding of specific viral genomes makes this process tunable. Components of a disease such as transmissibility, lethality, and the infectious window can potentially be modified […]
Send in the Blow Flies: Using Insects to Sample Areas for Chemical Warfare Agents
Global Biodefense April 11, 2022 Blow flies sample the environment as they search for water and food sources and can be trapped from kilometers away using baited traps. Under a program sponsored by DARPA a team of researchers at Indiana University-Purdue University investigated blow flies as environmental chemical sample collectors following a chemical warfare attack (CWA). They exposed three species of blow flies to CWA simulants dimethyl methylphosphonate and diethyl phosphoramidate as well as the pesticide dichlorvos, followed by treatment-dependent temperature and humidity conditions to determine the persistence and detectability of these compounds under varying environmental conditions. Flies were sacrificed […]
Nuclear terrorism could be intercepted by neutron-gamma detector that pinpoints source
EurekAlert May 19, 2021 Researchers in Sweden have developed a Neutron-Gamma Emission Tomography (NGET) system that goes beyond the capabilities of existing radiation portal monitors, by measuring the time and energy correlations between particles emitted in nuclear fission and using machine learning algorithms to visualize where they are coming from. The system looks for coincidences of neutron and gamma ray emissions–which when mapped together in real-time allow pinpointing their origin. They demonstrated the method on a radiation portal monitor prototype system based on fast organic scintillators measuring the characteristic fast time and energy correlations between particles emitted in nuclear fission […]
DARPA Selects Teams to Defend Against Chemical, Biological Threats from Inside and Out
DARPA News April 19, 2021 DARPA’s Personalized Protective Biosystem (PPB) aims to address PPE limitations, including threat-specific vulnerabilities, thermal/logistical burdens, and potential exposure risk. The five-year program is divided into two technical areas (TAs). TA1 technologies aim to prevent external contact between the threat and the body, providing 100% survival against more than 10 CB agents with smart, lightweight materials. TA2 technologies will neutralize threats at vulnerable internal tissue barriers (i.e., skin, airway, ocular) using a configurable countermeasure. DARPA recently awarded contracts to develop lightweight materials and adaptable, tissue-protective countermeasures to provide on-demand, broad spectrum, and rapid long-term protection. Performers […]
Biodefense Headlines – 29 November 2020
Globalbiodefense November 29, 2020 This week’s selections include COVID-19 vaccination strategies; a history of nerve agents; bioethics of ‘supersoldier’ pharmacological enhancements; and digital warm-start CRISPR diagnostics…read more.
Biodefense Headlines – 8 November 2020
Global Biodefense November 8, 2020 This week’s selections include COVID-19 surveillance data systems; pandemic impact on measles, polio vaccination rates; and revisiting a verification mechanism for the BWC… read more.