Biological terrorism warnings gaining increased attention

Concerns about the risk of biological attack on the United States have led the list of potential threats in 3 important reports released in December, making it increasingly likely that both policy and technology to combat biological terrorism will be at the forefront of HS policy in the Obama administration. Expect new legislation and funding (for both R&D and increasing capabilities) regarding biological terrorism, and increased political attention.

Report: Commission on the Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism

The bi-partisan Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism released a long-awaited report on December 4th about the current state of the WMD threat against the U.S.. The report received fairly wide coverage in both the main-stream press and on the Internet. Summary of the report, recommendations, and reactions, and links to the full text of the report and other sources for more information and analysis.

BioSafety Labs fail GAO perimeter security tests

From HSToday:

Three out of five of the nation’s top biosafety laboratories have poor perimeter security measures, prompting congressional investigators to recommend that the CDC, which regulates the labs, review their security and consider upgrades.
The GAO conducted the review for the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and published the results Thursday in a report titled [...]

Presidential candidates answers about plans to combat bioterrorism

Excerpt from Nature magazine article: US election: Questioning the candidates:
Barack Obama accepted Nature’s invitation to answer 18 science-related questions in writing; John McCain’s campaign declined. Here are Obama’s answers to additional questions that did not appear in our print magazine. Wherever possible, Nature has noted what McCain has said at other times on these topics.
What [...]