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New spray-on films developed by UC San Diego chemists will be the basis of portable devices that can quickly reveal trace amounts of nitrogen-based explosives.Contaminated fingerprints leave dark shadows on the films, which glow blue under ultraviolet light. One of the films can distinguish between different classes of explosive chemicals, a property that could provide evidence to help solve a crime, or prevent one.

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People everywhere have to be free of large-scale catastrophes to pursue their dreams and enjoy life.In the United States, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the federal agency charged with protecting our nation from terrorist attacks and making it a more secure place to live, work and visit.

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A survey of US hospitals and emergency rooms suggests they would not be able to cope with the surge of casualties that might follow a terror attack. The one day survey of 34 major hospitals was carried out by a House of Representatives oversight committee that is investigating the potential impact of plans by the Bush administration to cut Medicaid funding.

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If you have a nagging feeling that life is getting increasingly hazardous, you may be interested in the new book, “Operational Risk Management,” by Mark D. Abkowitz, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Vanderbilt University.The book contains 15 case studies of major disasters, including September 11, Hurricane Katrina and the losses of the Challenger and Columbia space shuttles.

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Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE: EBS) announced that it has completed the acquisition of all assets and rights related to a recombinant protective antigen (rPA) anthrax vaccine product candidate and related technology from VaxGen, Inc. Recent improvements to the rPA vaccine, specifically related to stability, suggests that it is well positioned to be a leading candidate for an award under a request for proposal (RFP) recently issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

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The La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology (LIAI) has received a $7.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fund safety and effectiveness testing of an antibody treatment that quickly fights the smallpox virus. The treatment could be the nation’s first line of defense in protecting against a terrorist-originated smallpox outbreak and may eventually be stockpiled nationwide alongside the smallpox vaccine.

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Highlighting North Carolina State University’s leadership in hazard and disaster studies, NC State’s Dr. Thomas Birkland was awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation to lead a nationwide effort to recruit and mentor young researchers to study disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the September 11 terrorist attacks.The effort will focus on pairing newly minted Ph.D.

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There’s safety (and security) in numbers… especially when those numbers are random. That’s the lesson learned from a DHS-sponsored research project out of the University of Southern California (USC). The research is already helping to beef up security at LAX airport in Los Angeles, and it could soon be used across the country to predict and minimize risk.

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The La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology (LIAI) has received a $7.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fund safety and effectiveness testing of an antibody treatment that quickly fights the smallpox virus. The treatment could be the nation’s first line of defense in protecting against a terrorist-originated smallpox outbreak and may eventually be stockpiled nationwide alongside the smallpox vaccine.

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If you use one of America’s top Internet service providers, you may share server space with an organization that enables worldwide terrorism, says a new study by Tel Aviv University.A workshop on terrorist organizations and the Internet was organized for the North American Treaty Organization (NATO) by the Netvision Institute for Internet Studies (NIIS) and the Interdisciplinary Center for Technology Analysis & Forecasting, both of Tel Aviv University.

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