Biosecurity News and Research

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Biosecurity is a set of preventive measures designed to reduce the risk of transmission of infectious diseases, quarantined pests, invasive alien species, living modified organisms.

Jail decarceration leads to community-wide public health benefits, study shows

How can government slow the spread of COVID-19 in the U.S.? Look to America's unique epidemic engines: jails and prisons in America.

2 Sep 2021

Report outlines strong scientific foundations for taking actions to stop the next pandemic

As the world struggles to contain COVID-19, a group of leading, scientific experts from the U.S., Latin America, Africa, and South Asia released a report today outlining the strong scientific foundations for taking actions to stop the next pandemic by preventing the spillover of pathogens from animals to people.

18 Aug 2021

Vaccinate big cats? New report shows SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant infecting endangered lions

There is evidence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infecting animals such as ferrets, fruit bats, and cats. New research led by Vijendra Pal Singh from the ICAR-National Institute of High Security Animal Disease in India suggests it might be time to vaccinate the big cats as well. Their report details SARS-CoV-2 infection in nine Asiatic lions caused by the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant (B.1.617.2).

7 Jul 2021

Bruker’s molecular phenomics research tools enable new insights into ‘long COVID’ and post-acute metabolic abnormalities

A clinical research collaboration on COVID-19 pheno-conversion and subsequent pheno-reversion has discovered transient and persistent systemic changes of the molecular signatures in patient blood samples three months after the acute COVID-19 disease phase.

From Bruker BioSpin - NMR, EPR and Imaging 22 Jun 2021

Delays and shortages hit SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance program

A new study from the Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology (IBAB), Bengaluru, India, provides an overview of how well this important monitoring mechanism is functioning around the world. The team has released their findings as a preprint on the bioRxiv* server.

14 Jun 2021

New technology allows rapid analysis and mapping of new potential virus variants

Variants of viruses, such as that causing COVID-19, can now be quickly studied in the laboratory, even before they emerge in nature and become a major public health challenge.

9 Jun 2021

Scientists use an original approach to resolve the 3D structure of flaviviruses

In a recent study, Australian scientists used an original approach to resolve the 3D structure of flaviviruses with an unprecedented level of detail, identifying small molecules known as 'pocket factors' as new therapeutic targets.

1 Jun 2021

WHO and Swiss Confederation launch Biohub facility to improve sharing and analysis of viruses

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Swiss Confederation today signed a Memorandum of Understanding to launch the first WHO BioHub Facility as part of the WHO BioHub System, which was announced in November 2020. This facility will enhance the rapid sharing of viruses and other pathogens between laboratories and partners globally.

28 May 2021

Animal and insect invasions could shed light on COVID-19 transmission

Invasions by alien insect and animal species have much in common with outbreaks of infectious diseases and could tell us a great deal about how pandemics spread, according to a research paper published today.

19 May 2021

Charles Fracchia selected for DARPA ISAT Study Group

Dotmatics today announced that the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has named Charles Fracchia to its ISAT Study Group.

18 May 2021

Government’s covid-19 travel plan will let new variants into the UK, experts warn

The government’s covid-19 travel plan will let new variants into the UK, warn experts in The BMJ today.

17 May 2021

Free-ranging minks exhibit high titers of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in Utah

Researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report outbreaks of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on mink farms in Utah, United States. They surveyed around farms for evidence of exposure and found high SARS-CoV-2 titers, suggesting a possible viral transmission pathway to native wildlife.

28 Feb 2021

Commonly used sweeteners may promote antibiotic resistance

Researchers in Australia have conducted a study showing that commonly used nonnutritive sweeteners can promote the spread of antibiotic-resistant genes in the intestine.

28 Feb 2021

New study highlights 10 crucial lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic

A mixture of smaller countries led by New Zealand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand, Cyprus, Rwanda and Iceland led the world 's Top 10 countries to manage their COVID-19 response well, according to a new study.

23 Feb 2021

Disinfectants could be helping bacteria to become resistant

News-Medical speaks to Professor Robert Bragg about disinfectants and how they could be helping bacteria to become resistant.

22 Feb 2021

Novel plastic film can deactivate 99.99% of the new coronavirus in 15 minutes

A consortium comprised by companies Braskem, AplFilm and Nanox and the UFSCar (Brazil) and Jaume I of Castellón (Spain) universities have released a plastic film capable of deactivating 99.99% of the new coronavirus in 15 minutes.

8 Feb 2021

Researchers define key questions to help the UK government for next biosecurity threat

During the summer of 2019, a global team of experts put their heads together to define the key questions facing the UK government when it comes to biological security.

4 Feb 2021

SARS-CoV-2 spike protein mediates acute lung pathology in mice

A study shows that the viral spike protein is adequate by itself to induce macrophage activation in pulmonary tissue and induce acute inflammation.

10 Dec 2020

New cyber-biological attack can trick biologists into generating dangerous toxins

An end-to-end cyber-biological attack, in which unwitting biologists may be tricked into generating dangerous toxins in their labs, has been discovered by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev cyber-researchers.

30 Nov 2020

Research reveals areas where the next pandemic could emerge

An international team of researchers has taken a holistic approach to reveal for the first time where wildlife-human interfaces intersect with areas of poor human health outcomes and highly globalized cities, which could give rise to the next pandemic unless preventative measures are taken.

24 Nov 2020