March 28, 2017
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Public Health & Healthcare Preparedness
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NEWS Trump Recruits Controversial Bush-Era Global Health Official.
William "Bill" Steiger, a global health official under former President George W. Bush who crossed swords with many scientists, is now advising President Donald Trump. At his Senate nomination hearing in 2007, Steiger was questioned about allegations that he suppressed a surgeon general's report because it conflicted with Bush administration policies on public health, and also imposed travel restrictions on HHS scientists that forced them to withdraw accepted presentations at an international AIDS conference.
(Science, 3/27/17)
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NOTICE Multi-Agency Informational Meeting Concerning Compliance With the Federal Select Agent Program; Public Webcast.
The HHS/CDC's Division of Select Agents and Toxins (DSAT) and the US Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Agriculture Select Agent Services (AgSAS) are jointly charged with the regulation of the possession, use and transfer of biological agents and toxins that have the potential to pose a severe threat to public, animal or plant health or to animal or plant products (select agents and toxins). This joint effort constitutes the Federal Select Agent Program. The purpose of the webcast is to provide guidance and information related to the Federal Select Agent Program for interested individuals.
(Federal Register, 3/27/17)
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REPORT Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Often called "the voice of CDC," the MMWR series is the agency's primary vehicle for scientific publication of timely, reliable, authoritative, accurate, objective, and useful public health information and recommendations.
(CDC, 3/24/17)
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STATEMENT World TB Day Statement.
Dr. Rebecca Martin, Director of CDC's Center for Global Health, has provided a statement that reflects on the global burden of TB and what is needed to eradicate this deadly disease. Read more about how CDC is fighting global TB to help ensure a safer America and a safer world.
(AIDS.gov, 3/22/17)
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NEWS When the US Funds Global Health, Other Countries Do Too.
In President Trump's proposed budget, there's a $54 billion bump in military spending. US foreign aid would be cut by 28 percent. Global health spending beyond AIDS, malaria and vaccines will suffer. This type of foreign aid, according to many U. policymakers and military leaders, increases soft power, or the global influence the United States has because it supports basic human rights and humanitarian causes.
(Washington Post, 3/21/17)
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BLOG The Consequences of Contaminated Water.
Cholera persists in Haiti primarily because many people lack access to clean water and proper sanitation. CDC continues to work with partners to improve access to safe water, such as increasing the number of homes who treat household water with chlorine.
(CDC, 3/21/17)
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GUIDANCE Partner Presentations and Conference Calls About Zika. CDC has made available numerous resources on Zika prevention, diagnosis, mitigation, and response. (CDC, 3/20/17) |
RESEARCH The US Emergency Care Coordination Center. Researchers at the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response describe the federal government's complex role in the delivery of emergency care in the United States.
Although emergency care is delivered within the Department of Veterans Affairs, Indian Health Service, and Department of Defense, primarily for eligible beneficiaries, the majority of it is delivered in the private sector rather than as part of a federal program.
(Annals of Emergency Medicine, 3/17)
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Homeland Security & Disaster Preparedness
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NEWS Why DARPA Funded a Farm Tech Startup.
"One of the things we've seen is that regional unrest has been linked to circumstances that seem detached from national security -- like the price of bread," says Joseph Evans, a program manager in DARPA's strategic technology office. "If we can get more accurate tools to predict famine, we can head off these types of situations with humanitarian versus military intervention."
(Fortune, 3/23/17)
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Science & Technology Policy
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PRESS RELEASE Turning to Chemistry for New "Computing" Concepts.
As the complexity and volume of global digital data grows, so too does the need for more capable and compact means of processing and storing data. To address this challenge, DARPA has announced its Molecular Informatics program, which seeks a new paradigm for data storage, retrieval, and processing.
(DARPA, 3/23/17)
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NEWS IARPA Leader Rethinks How to Get the Biggest Bang for Research Funds.
"We're very interested in the science of science," Jason Matheny, Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity director, said at a Government Analytics Breakfast event in Washington on Wednesday. He asked audience members for help understanding how investments into areas such as high-performance computing, machine learning and other fields have on technological and economic growth rates.
(IARPA, 3/22/17)
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COMMENTARY Bedside Back to Bench: Building Bridges Between Basic and Clinical Genomic Research.
Genome sequencing has revolutionized the diagnosis of genetic diseases. Close collaborations between basic scientists and clinical genomicists are now needed to link genetic variants with disease causation. To facilitate such collaborations, researchers at the National Human Genome Research Institute recommend prioritizing clinically relevant genes for functional studies, developing reference variant-phenotype databases, adopting phenotype description standards, and promoting data sharing.
(Cell, 3/20/17)
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Realizing Nationwide Next-Generation 911. US House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. 3/29/17, 10 AM. Rayburn 2123. More |
Climate Science: Assumptions, Policy Implications, and the Scientific Method. US House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. 3/29/17, 10 AM, Rayburn 2318. More |
Threats to Space Assets and Implications for Homeland Security. US House Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittees on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications; First Responder Communications; Infrastructure Protection; Science, Technology, Research and Development. 3/29/17, 2 PM. House Capitol Visitor Center 210. More |
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