Biological Agents & Infectious Diseases
Migrants at Risk of Drug-resistant TB in Europe (
Daily Star) In the late 19th century, an estimated one in seven Europeans was dying of tuberculosis, then known as "consumption" for its slow, remorseless wasting of the human body. Now, after decades of low TB rates thanks to antibiotics and strong public health systems, the continent is threatened by a new and different form of the lung disease -- one which cannot easily be cured with existing drugs.
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Government Affairs & National Security
Why Trump's NIH Cuts Should Worry Us (
New York Times) Last week I was in London to participate in a scientific symposium. During coffee breaks, many British colleagues asked me and other American visitors to explain the bewildering news that President Trump had announced his intention to cut the budget for the National Institutes of Health by 18.3 percent, about $5.8 billion.
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Global Health Security
Fifteen Ambulances Airlifted into Iraq to Serve Trauma Needs in Mosul (
WHO) The WHO with logistic support from the World Food Programme, airlifted 15 fully equipped ambulances to Iraq in order to strengthen the response to the increasing trauma and medical related emergencies in west Mosul. These ambulances will enhance trauma care at the frontlines and ensure timely referral to field hospitals.
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UN Accepts Blame but Dodges the Bill in Haiti (
New York Times) Today's lesson in evading moral responsibility comes to us from the UN. The organization says it is terribly concerned about the cholera epidemic in Haiti and wishes to eliminate it. But it has not figured out when and how this is going to happen, and with what money.
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Medicine & Public Health
Evaluating Novel Diagnostics in an Outbreak Setting: Lessons Learned from Ebola (
Journal of Clinical Microbiology) Inadequate access to rapid testing for Ebola virus disease during the 2014-16 outbreak led to an explosion in the development of diagnostics that could be performed at or near the point-of-care and by less experienced operators, leading in turn to an acute need for novel test evaluation. Here, we present the challenges to novel diagnostic development and evaluation in an emergency setting, and suggestions for potential new "global emergency standards" to address them.
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Science & Technology
Genome Engineering and Modification Toward Synthetic Biology for the Production of Antibiotics (
Medicinal Research Reviews) Antibiotic production is often governed by large gene clusters composed of genes related to antibiotic scaffold synthesis, tailoring, regulation, and resistance. With the expansion of genome sequencing, a considerable number of antibiotic gene clusters has been isolated and characterized. The emerging genome engineering techniques make it possible towards more efficient engineering of antibiotics.
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How Can a Legally Binding Agreement on Human Cloning Be Established? (
Phys.org) Since Dolly the Sheep was cloned in 1996, the question of whether human reproductive cloning should be banned or pursued has been the subject of international debate. In an attempt to address the issue, the UN formulated a Declaration on Human Cloning in 2005, but this was ambiguously worded and received ambivalent support from UN member states.
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Safety First with Gene Editing (
Chemistry World: Registration Required) The field of genome editing is experiencing explosive growth, facilitated primarily by the Crispr-Cas9 tool. Genome editors are quickly becoming indispensable, achieving a wide range of beneficial results with medical and industrial applications. However, these developments are outpacing related advances in biosafety and biosecurity that could help ensure these tools are used responsibly.
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Other 21st Century Threats
