Biological Agents & Infectious Diseases
Government Affairs & National Security
Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2018 (
Congressional Research Service) President Trump's budget request for FY2018 includes $117.697 billion for research and development. This represents a $30.605 billion (20.6%) decrease from the FY2016 actual level of $148.302 billion (FY2017 enacted levels were not available at the time of publication). Adjusted for inflation, the President's FY2018 R&D request represents a constant dollar decrease of 23.6% from the FY2016 actual level.
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Global Health Security
The Political Determinants of the Cholera Outbreak in Yemen (
The Lancet) At the end of June, 2017, UNICEF and WHO released a statement declaring that Yemen is "facing the worst cholera outbreak in the world". The statement points out that the outbreak is caused by the civil war that began in 2015, but it does not suggest that one party is more responsible than another, simply noting that "2 years of heavy conflict" have resulted in "collapsing health, water and sanitation systems". Nor does it point to one side being more affected by the outbreak, stating that "cholera has spread to almost every governorate".
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Medicine & Public Health
China Takes Lead in World Health Affairs (
The Straits Times) China has signalled that it intends to play a leading role in public health globally, announcing a slew of programmes yesterday in partnership with the WHO. Under its Health Silk Road initiative, China will create a global platform to facilitate information-sharing on communicable diseases, and boost the use of traditional Chinese medicine.
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Breaking the Chain of Zoonoses Through Biosecurity in Livestock (
Vaccine) Increases in global travel, trade and urbanisation are leading to greater incidence of zoonotic disease, and livestock are often a key link in the spread of disease to humans. As such, livestock vaccination strategies, as a part of broader biosecurity solutions, are critical to both animal and human health. Importantly, approaches that restrict infectious agents in livestock, not only protects their economic value but should reduce the potential for spill over infections in humans.
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Science & Technology
New Wearable Predicts If You're Getting Flu (
Digital Journal) The new way of tracking and predicting flu outbreaks is an example of how hospitals create with technology which can be commercialized. With the new development--a wearable thermometer--the Thermia online health educational tool was developed at Boston Children's Hospital.
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Genetic Tweaks to Tuberculosis Could Speed Up Discovery of a New Vaccine (
STAT News) "OK, smell this," says Jeff Wagner, a Harvard postdoc of immunology and infectious disease. He's pointing to the two flasks of bacteria in front of me. I breathe cautiously from the first vial of yellowish broth. Nothing. "Now this one," he says, with an identical looking sample. And I'm hit with it: a distinct mint aroma like someone melted down a pack of breath mints.
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Dual Use Issues in Research--A Subject of Increasing Concern? (
Vaccine) Dual use is defined as the application of materials, knowledge or technologies for military or terrorist purposes, as well as for good. In biological science, it is considered to be a growing threat as the genetics of pathogenicity traits and toxins are becoming on one hand elucidated in a detail that was not anticipated 20 years ago and on the other hand technological advances in genetic engineering and synthetic biology are continually enabling easier access to these technologies.
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