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Pandora Report 7.14.2017

Welcome to your weekly dose of all things biodefense! We’ve got a lot of global health security goodies for you this week, so grab a coffee and let’s get our biodefense on!

Canadian Researchers Reconstitute Horsepox With Online DNA Order
Friday was an exciting day in the world of dual-use research of concern (DURC) and biosecurity efforts. News of a Canadian research team and their successful experiment in reconstituting horsepox, brought to light several concerns and gaps within DURC oversight. Led by virologist David Evans, the team was able to synthesize horsepox, a relative of smallpox, which is no longer found in nature. What is really concerning so many about this experiment is that Evans and his team were able to do this with little specialized knowledge, $100,000, and using mail-order DNA fragments. While the study hasn’t been published, it is drawing a lot of attention, not only for the potential that such a process could be applied to smallpox, but also that it failed to trigger more reviews at an institutional level for DURC risks. While the U.S. DURC oversight only applies to federally funded research with fifteen select agents, the Canadian processes cover such research that could disseminate knowledge, regardless of what organism is being used. GMU’s Dr. Gregory Koblentz spoke to Science and discussed DURC oversight, noting, “That should have captured the horsepox synthesis,”. “But as far as I understand, they did not engage in a systematic review of the broader dual-use implications of synthesizing an orthopox virus,” says Koblentz. “I don’t think this experiment should have been done.” Researchers and biosecurity experts around the world are weighing in on this study, especially since its publication is immiment. Tom Inglesby of the Center for Health Security pointed to three serious questions and concerns that this work raises – whether experimental work should be performed for the purpose of demonstrating that a dangerous or destructive  outcome could be created by using biology, how much new detail will be provided in the forthcoming publication regarding the processes for constructing an orthopox virus, and the international biosecurity and biosafety implications regarding the approval process for such experimental work. Perhaps one of the most startling aspects of all the commentary and reports on the horsepox experiment has been Evans own opinion on it all – “Have I increased the risk by showing how to do this? I don’t know,” he says. “Maybe yes. But the reality is that the risk was always there.” Where ever you might stand on the topic of dual-use research, bioethicist Nicholas Evans of the University of Massachusetts (of no relation to David Evans), said it best regarding this debated experiment – “an important milestone, a proof of concept of what can be done with viral synthesis. Aside from the oversight and life science research questions that this experiment brings to light, it also stirs the embers of the fiery debate regarding the destruction of the remaining smallpox stockpiles. The most recent blue ribbon panel review regarding the 2014 NIH variola incident sheds some light on the biosecurity and biosafety challenges of maintaining the stockpiles. You can check out the report of the Blue Ribbon Panel to Review the 2014 Smallpox Virus Incident on the NIH Campus  here. The report goes through the event itself, as well as their findings on the incident, response to the incident, and policy changes. Some of the contributing factors they identified included lack of responsibility for infectious materials in shared space, failure to find all variola samples in the 1980s, lack of complete and regular inventory of potentially hazardous biological materials, lack of policy for abandoned materials, history of NIH lapses following implementation of the Select Agent Regulations, etc.

Summer Workshop – Last Chance to Register!
Our Summer Workshop on Pandemics, Bioterrorism, and Global Health Security starts on Monday, July 17th, which means you still have time to register! Don’t miss out on this wonderful opportunity to discuss everything from Ebola to the concerns surrounding the horsepox dual-use dilemma. This three-day workshop will feature experts across the field of biodefense and will provide participants with a wonderful opportunity for networking and brainstorming!

The Pentagon Weighs the Threat of Synthetic Bioweapons
While the topic of synbio and DURC is still fresh in our minds, how is the Pentagon considering gene-editing as a potential threat? Sure, we prepare for natural outbreaks and acts of bioterrorism, but how does CRISPR come into the mix? “Pentagon planners are starting to wonder what happens if the next deadly flu bug or hemorrhagic fever doesn’t come from a mosquito-infested jungle or bat-crowded cave. With new gene editing tools like Crispr-Cas9, state enemies could, theoretically, create unique organisms by mixing-and-matching bits of genetic information.” In response to these questions and potential scenarios, deputy assistant secretary of defense for chemical and biological defense, Christian Hassell, is working to get some answers. Hassell and other Pentagon colleages funded a year-long review by the National Academies of Sciences to evaluate the health security threats of synbio. While the review is still going on, a preliminary report is undergoing “classified review” before it can be publicly released. This review will be vital to consider the future of gain-of-function research and other dual-use research of concern in the context of biodefense. “Scientists at the meeting expressed a range of ideas about how the military could best defend against biological threats. Sriram Kosuri runs a synthetic biology lab at UCLA that has developed libraries of DNA sequences that can be developed into new kinds of organisms. While he understands the possibility of a lab-engineered threat, he believes the Pentagon and federal health officials should focus on responding to emerging public health menaces rather than monitoring academic labs that use genetic manipulation tools. ‘There’s a legitimate threat of emerging viruses and we need to be prepared for those things,’ Kosuri said during a break in the meeting. ‘The tiny threat of engineered viruses is miniscule compared to that’.” The challenging part in all of this is that there’s no precedent – this is a new field of threat and risk analysis where historical examples are lacking. Hypothetical situations and response scenarios are the best we can offer, but some of the most valuable tools are the ones we already have, like surveillance or early-stage review processes.

Trump Appoints A Key Bioterrorism Position But Still Leaves Dozens Open
Biological threats aren’t just acts of bioterrorism, but also natural outbreaks or laboratory accidents. If the latest horsepox experiment hasn’t convinced you already, we live in a time of quite unique and diverse biothreats. The spectrum of threats requires an array of agencies and personnel with the skills and resources to prevent and respond to such an event. Unfortunately, we’re currently at a national disadvantage in terms of biodefense. If we look at just one small facet of biothreats (bioterrorism), the U.S. has twenty-six (now twenty-five with the nomination of Kadlec) major and vital roles that are vacant and have not been filled by the Trump administration. While some are awaiting confirmation, there are vacancies without even a nominee like the White House position of Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy. The Department of Health and Human Services is missing a surgeon general and assistant secretary for health (awaiting confirmation), while the U.S. Agency For International Development lacks a nominee for the assistant administrator for global health. There are just a few of the vital positions we rely upon for preventing and responding to acts of bioterrorism. In the wider context of all biological threats, it may not seem like much, but the truth is that these vacancies leave the U.S. in a dangerously vulnerable position. Fortunately, President Trump announced on Monday his plans to nominate Robert P. Kadlec of New York to be the Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Preparedness and Response. “Currently, Dr. Kadlec is the Deputy Staff Director for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Previously, he served as a Special Assistant to the President for Biodefense Policy for President George W. Bush. Dr. Kadlec holds a B.S. from the U.S. Air Force Academy; a M.D. from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, and a M.A. in National Security Studies, Georgetown University.” He was also the Director for the Biodefense Preparedness on the Homeland Security Council and aided in drafting the Pandemic and All-Hazard Preparedness Act, as well as conducting the biodefense end-to-end assessment (culminating in the National Biodefense Policy for the 21st Century). You can even watch Dr. Kadlec speak on C-SPAN at the Bipartisan Policy Center & Kansas State University forum on biodefense in October of 2016. Dr. Kadlec also directed the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense during their efforts to establish guidance during critical biothreats.

Public Health Preparedness and Response National Snapshot 2017
The CDC just released their 2017 snapshot regarding U.S. public health preparedness and response, noting that “this year has shown us, once again, that we can’t predict the next disaster. But it has also shown us clearly how being prepared protects health and saves lives. Emergencies can devastate a single area, as we saw with Hurricane Matthew, or span the globe, like Zika virus. Disasters from 9/11 to Ebola have demonstrated that we absolutely must have people, strategies, and resources in place before an emergency happens.” Within the snapshot, there are four main sections- Prepare, Respond, Connect, and Looking Forward. Within these sections, you can look at Zika, laboratories as the front lines of America’s health, global training programs, delivering results through partnership, etc. I found the section on Health Security: How Is The U.S. Doing, quite interesting. They note that “as part of the Global Health Security Agenda, teams of international experts travel to countries to report on how well public health systems are working to prevent, detect, and respond to outbreaks. This process is known as the Joint External Evaluation.” The CDC and Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) work together to establish evaluators , etc. Thankfully, this position is in the process of being filled so that these efforts can move forward. While this snapshot captures the range of issues that must be covered in public health preparedness, it also draws attention to how vital the roles in each agency are, which makes the vacancies that much more impacting.

Summary of Key Recommendations – Meeting to Solicit Stakeholder Input on Forthcoming 2017 National Biodefense Strategy
The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, supported by the Open Philanthropy Project, recently held a meeting to discuss and consider the landscape of biological threats to the United States and what response measures, programs, and policies are in place, etc. Featuring members from across academia, industry, and government, these subject matter experts weighed in on this honest and frank discussion about U.S. biodefense strengths and weaknesses. There were several recommendations and topics that were discussed but some of the highlights include improving biosurveillance capabilities and laboratory network, performing risk assessments and characterizing threats, strengthening emergency response capabilities including decontamination efforts, prevention-related efforts, building global capacities for bio-threat preparedness and response, etc. They noted several components to improving U.S. biodefense – “internationally, laboratory and surveillance systems for early detection of new outbreaks will be most effective when they serve the needs of countries where they are housed. It will not work for the US to create systems to gather and export data that the US needs from countries if those countries do not get the information themselves and find it to be valuable.” In regards to healthcare system response and strengthening the workforce, the group pointed out that “national and international preparedness for biological threats requires a strong workforce, including public health experts and animal and plant disease scientists. To some degree, success at controlling infectious diseases in the US may have inadvertently resulted in workforce attrition in these fields. Federal support for developing the workforce in these fields is important”.

Strategies for Effective Biological Detection Systems: A Workshop
Don’t miss this workshop put on by the National Academies of Sciences on Monday, September 18th – Tuesday, September 19th. “The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will host a two-day public workshop on strategies for effectively updating biological detection systems. The workshop will explore alternative effective systems that would meet requirements for the Department of Homeland Security’s BioWatch Program as a biological detection system for aerosolized agents. There will be a focus on systems or strategies that could be deployed by 2027, and enable indoor surveillance and dual-use with day-to-day environmental surveillance that would be of value to the public health and medical communities. There will also be a focus on the integration of improvements and new technologies into the existing biological detection architecture.”

MRSA Screening – Healthcare Prevention Methods for Resistant Germs & Swabbing Our Way To A Solution for Antibiotic Resistance
Antibiotic resistance is a growing global issue and one of the hotspots for transmission of resistant germs is in hospitals. Given that MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is now a common bacteria in the community and healthcare world, hospitals are working to screen patients to ensure those with MRSA are isolated appropriately and they can stop the spread of infection. GMU biodefense PhD student and infection preventionist Saskia Popescu looks at MRSA screening practices within hospital intensive care units (ICUs) and the cost analysis that can make or break a program. Most hospitals utilize one of two approaches – preemptive universal precautions (isolate all ICU patients until microbiology labs can prove they are negative for MRSA) or targeted isolation (wait until labs come back and then isolate). Each tactic has benefits and weaknesses. Delays in isolation can translate to further spread of MRSA, while longer periods in isolation mean additional costs associated with isolation. A recent study evaluated these very two strategies and the “researchers found that the total cost of preemptive isolation ‘was minimized when a PCR screen was used ($82.51 per patient). Costs were $207.60 more per patient when a conventional culture was used due to the longer turnaround time.’ For ICUs that used targeted isolation, the researchers found that costs would be lowest when chromogenic agar 24-testing was used and not PCR.” What this study highlights is that there is inherently no best practice and that depending on laboratory capability, hospitals may have to plan their MRSA screening and isolation protocols off their microbiology department and cost centers. While hospitals are working to screen patients as a means of responding to microbial resistance, researchers are working against the clock to find solutions. Dr. Adam Roberts is one such innovative microbiologist in the UK who is using an old-school approach to respond to a new problem. Popescu was able to interview him regarding his Swab and Send program, which utilizes citizen scientists from around the world to collect samples that may help produce new antimicrobials from the environment. Roberts is working to utilize environmental samples that hold microorganisms which produce compounds that can help build new antibiotics. “The initiative also helps create a microbial database. For £30, Dr. Roberts’ team will send anyone a handful of sample tubes, a mailing envelope, and directions for what to swab (for example: a nutritious area bacteria would likely grow, likely something unsanitary). After you send back your swabs, you can check out Swab and Send’s Facebook page and see what microbes grew from the samples.” Check out Dr. Roberts’ comments on trends he’s seeing and how even GMU biodefense students are getting in on the swabbing!

Naval Research Lab Find High Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistance in Kenya
Microbial resistance has a way of popping up in even the most unexpected places and projects. The U.S. Navy Research Laboratory (NRL), U.S. Army Medical Research Directorate-Kenya (USAMRD-K), Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), and University of Washington, led a joint effort to evaluate intestinal tract bacteria and its resistance in patients across Kenya. The NRL-developed microarray they used is capable of detecting over 200 difference antimicrobial resistant genes. “These results suggest that there is selective pressure for the establishment and maintenance of resistant strains,” said Dr. Chris Taitt, research biologist, NRL Center for Bio/Molecular Science and Engineering. “This is potentially due to agriculture and prophylactic use of antibiotics and further suggests the need for more effective public health policies and infection control measures than those currently implemented.” “Specific to Kenya, widespread use of tetracycline in livestock production, use of trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (SXT) and chloramphenicol as first line therapeutics for typhoid, and prophylactic use of SXT in persons exposed to or infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) might have contributed to the high prevalence of resistance.” Surveillance of antimicrobial resistance has been a struggle on an international level however, joint efforts like this are vital to not only establishing global standards and processes, but also highlighting the importance it has for military personnel abroad.

Stories You May Have Missed:

  • Agroterrorism Bill – a new bill was recently introduced by U.S. Rep. David Young (R-IA) and Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) regarding the preparedness of the U.S. agriculture, food, and veterinary systems. “The Securing Our Agriculture and Food Act requires the DHS Secretary, through the Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs, to ensure food, agriculture, animal, and human health sectors receive appropriate attention and are also integrated into the DHS’s domestic preparedness policy initiatives. The legislation specifically addresses issues seen after the 2015 avian influenza outbreak, which killed millions of turkeys, backyard flocks, and layer hens. It was the deadliest outbreak of avian influenza in Iowa’s history.”
  • What The G-20 Needs To Do To Fight The Next Ebola– The G-20 summit occurred last week in Hamburg and many were hoping for a renewed passion surrounding biological threats. While much attention was focused on climate change, there is also a call for efforts to prevent the next outbreak that will produce a pandemic. “Ultimately, strong health systems depend on communities, health workers, managers, researchers and other local stakeholders being empowered to respond to the inevitable, future waves of change we all face. At Health Systems Global, our members represent these multiple groups. Strengthening everyday resilience demands that we all — governments, donors, researchers, communities, health professionals — work with the resources that health systems already have — their people and relationships. This must be done as we take wider action to confront inequality at all levels. If we do not do that, then efforts to safeguard disease outbreaks will be meaningless.”

Pandora Report 5.26.2017

Summer is in full swing and that means the mosquitoes are out in force. Before you make those pesky bugs your biggest enemy, don’t forget about the threat of antibiotic resistance and the current MCR-1 Klebsiella outbreak in China!

Congrats GMU Biodefense Graduates
Last week we saw several MS and PhD students graduate from GMU’s biodefense program and we couldn’t be more excited to show off their hard work! Earning their MS in biodefense, we’d like to celebrate Kathryn Ake, Rebecca Earnhardt, Nicholas Guerin, Andrew Joyce, Ryan Lockhart, Patrick Lucey, Alison Mann, Jonathon Marioneaux, Scott McAlister, Greg Mercer, Katheryn Payton, Dana Saft, Colleen Tangney, and Anupama Varma. Earning their PhD in biodefense, we’re celebrating Keith W. Ludwick (Dissertation title: The Legend of the Lone Wolf: Categorizing Singular and Small Group Terrorism), Nereyda Sevilla (Germs on a Plane: The Transmission and Risks of Airplane-Borne Diseases), and Craig Wiener (Penetrate, Exploit, Disrupt, Destroy: The Rise of Computer Network Operations as a Major Military Innovation). Congrats to our biodefense graduates – we can’t wait to see what wonderful things you’ll accomplish in global health security!

U.S. Investment in Global Health Security  – The Good and The Bad
Whether it be an intentional, accidental, or natural biological event, infectious diseases can devastate local economies and populations. “Catastrophic” is a term commonly used for such events. Disease knows no borders or boundaries, which means that our global health security is only as strong as the weakest link. To aid in the stability of global health security, the State Department funds projects around the world to help improve biosafety and biosecurity. The philosophy is that if we can train local trainers to establish expertise and biorisk programs, it would lay the foundation for biosecurity/biosafety for the future. “The State Department carefully evaluates and selects the most impactful projects for each region, pairing local needs with appropriate subject matter expertise. One source of such expertise is Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), which has received State Department funding to implement numerous health security projects. Just this April, Lora Grainger, working at the Labs’ International Biological and Chemical Threat Reduction (IBCTR), travelled to Algeria to train Algerian trainers on a project funded by the State Department. Participants included scientists working in Algeria’s national network of laboratories managed by the Ministry of Agriculture, the Institut National de Médecine Véterinaire (INMV).” This partnership is just one of many and involves education that is tailored to the skills and needs of those being trained. Global health security is bigger than any one country and it’s vital to not only strengthen our own practices, but also facilitate its development in countries that might not have all the resources needed. Speaking of U.S. health security efforts, don’t forget to catch the Operation Whitecoat documentary on the June 1st.

While these are great efforts the U.S. is putting forward, there is also an internal struggle to maintain public health during a hiring freeze. The freeze was imposed by President Trump’s executive order in late January, which covers currently open positions, blocks transfers, and prevents new positions from being created. It was recently reporting that nearly 700 positions within the CDC are vacant due to the ongoing hiring freeze. “Like HHS, the State Department and the Environmental Protection Agency have maintained the freeze as a way of reducing their workforces and reshaping organizational structures after a directive last month from the Office of Management and Budget that said all federal agencies must submit a plan by June 30 to shrink their civilian workforces. HHS, State and EPA also face significant cuts in the Trump administration’s budget proposal for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1. The administration, which unveiled a ‘skinny budget‘ for fiscal 2018 in March, is scheduled to release its full budget next week. A senior CDC official said unfilled positions include dozens of budget analysts and public health policy analysts, scientists and advisers who provide key administrative support.” A new CDC document notes that at least 125 job categories have been blocked from being filled, which includes positions in the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response.

Ebola in the DRC – Updates
While we’re honoring researchers and workers for their efforts during the 2014/2015 West Africa outbreak, Ebola continues to rage through the DRC. You can find daily situation reports here from the WHO, as the numbers of reported cases are constantly changing. The WHO is reportedly optimistic that it can contain the outbreak and many are curious to see how the new director general will handle such challenges. The latest situation report from the WHO is pointing to six more cases of Ebola, bringing the total suspected cases to 43. 365 people are currently under monitoring in the DRC. Researchers have also made substantial progress towards understanding how Ebola disables the immune system so effectively. In response to this latest outbreak, the WHO is requesting funding to ensure adequate response to the DRC outbreak.

Pandemics, BT, & Global Health Security Workshop – Instructor Spotlight
We’re excited to announce that Kendall Hoyt is our instructor spotlight this week! Dr. Hoyt is an Assistant Professor at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth where she studies U.S. biodefense policy and biomedical R&D strategy. She is also a lecturer at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College where she teaches a course on technology and biosecurity. She is the author of Long Shot: Vaccines for National Defense, Harvard University Press, 2012. She serves on the National Academy of Sciences Committee on the Department of Defense’s Programs to Counter Biological Threats and on the advisory board of the Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center at Massachusetts General Hospital. Kendall Hoyt received her Ph.D. in the History and Social Study of Science and Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2002 and was a Fellow in the International Security Program at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government from 2002-2004. Prior to obtaining her degree, she worked in the International Security and International Affairs division of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Washington DC office of McKinsey and Company, and the Center for the Management of Innovation and Technology at the National University of Singapore. Did I mention that she’s also done work on Ebola and has written extensively about medical countermeasures for the disease? Dr. Hoyt is not only an expert on biosecurity and the impact of technology, but will take students through the journey of medical countermeasures and security.

The Finish Line in Ending Pandemics and The Future of the WHO
The recent election of a new WHO director-general highlights the current global shift in priorities, and yet the reality is that we’re still fighting an uphill battle against infectious disease and the threat of a pandemic. Recent decades have shown that outbreaks have been increasingly common, taking advantage of globalization, growing populations, and spillover. Avian influenza has been knocking at the door for a while…while bursts of Ebola and SARS have shaken global health security to its core. MERS has also triggered such events in hospitals, leaving no environment safe from emerging infectious diseases. The list of worrying viral diseases has also grown and taught us a rather painful truth – pandora’s box is already open and every time we think we’ve closed it…we realize the seal just isn’t that tight. “Dynamic, rapidly evolving viral threats emerge with increasing frequency, exploiting new pathways in endless pursuit of their biologic imperative. These viruses are the paradigm of adaptive learning. Pushing and probing at our defenses, they shift to new hosts, opportunistically hijack transmission routes, and acquire capacities to evade immune detection. They are subject to no rules of engagement, and their viral intelligence is anything but artificial”. Our new strategy is now to strengthen our detection efforts and to build up response processes. Many have highlighted that what we’ve seen is just a small percentage of what’s out there, but that doesn’t mean we have to keep our heads buried in the sand forever. The future of international disease response will change with the appointment of the new WHO director-general, especially for poor countries dependent upon resources. On Tuesday, it was announced that Ethiopia’s Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was voted director-general. Dr. Ghebreyesus is the first ever African director-general and brings to the position a long history of health stewardship as a former health minister in Ethiopia. Not only is this election particularly significant as the future of the WHO will be heavily weighed against its failures in recent years, but recent accusations against the newly elected director-general have created further doubts as to the stability of the organization.

Double-edged Sword Research
A new report from the Swiss Academies of Art & Sciences is drawing attention to the need for continued conversation and engagement about the potential for misuse in life sciences. As a result of the workshop, a report was developed highlighting “six issues that should be considered when designing, conducting, and communicating research projects. Each issue is illustrated with examples from actual research projects.” In fact, CRISPR inventor, Jennifer Doudna, is drawing attention to the promises and perils of the gene-editing technology. She points to the worries of creating designer embryos while contrasting the promises of reducing mosquito-transmitted diseases. In fact, recent work has shown some promise in using CRISPR to fight HIV. “Part of the problem is HIV’s ability to squirrel itself away inside a cell’s DNA – including the DNA of the immune cells that are supposed to be killing it. The same ability, though, could be HIV’s undoing. ast week, a group of biologists published research detailing how they hid an anti-HIV CRISPR system inside another type of virus capable of sneaking past a host’s immune system. What’s more, the virus replicated and snipped HIV from infected cells along the way.” While this work has only been done in mice and rats, the concept is promising. Overall, these advances bring about exciting future possibilities, but it’s important to remember that there are dangers too – whether it be tampering with human evolution, contaminated CRISPR kits, nefarious actors using them for terrorism, etc. The complexities of CRISPR and genetic engineering are only growing, which makes the 2018 arrival of the peer-reviewed publication, The CRISPR Journal, even more relevant.

Stories You May Have Missed:

  • Model Systems and the Need For Curiosity-Driven Science– GMU Biodefense PhD student, Saskia Popescu, is looking at the importance of model systems and picking the brain of a top researcher in the field, Dr. Julie Pfeiffer. “Poliovirus is great to use to create model systems because not only does it grow easily, but it is also relatively safe due to vaccination for lab workers, not to mention that we have a pretty solid understanding of the virus based off a century of working with it. ‘We know a lot about poliovirus and we have great tools in our toolbox. If you’re going to tackle a tough problem, it helps to have a great toolbox. For other fields, the ideal toolbox may be fruit flies, worms, or yeast. Collectively, these model systems have illuminated biology and have led to major advancements in human health.’ stated Dr. Pfeiffer in her recent PLOS Pathogens article on the importance of model systems.” “Firstly, I asked if she thought there were other eradicated or ‘almost’ eradicated diseases that could make decent models. She replied, ‘No. We use poliovirus as a model system because of its great tractability, safety, and ease of use (not because it’s nearly eradicated). [Other eradicated diseases such as] smallpox and rinderpest would not be good model systems because they have been completely eradicated from circulation, making biosafety and tractability major issues. [That being said,] if the poliovirus eradication campaign is successful, the idea is to stop vaccination. If this happens, poliovirus will likely become a BSL3/4 agent and I will no longer work with it’.”
  • Is Your Daycare Prepared For a Pandemic?– Daycare centers may not be your first thought when it comes to pandemic preparedness, however a recent survey found that fewer than one in ten U.S. centers have taken steps to prepare for a pandemic flu event. “Researchers surveyed directors of licensed childcare centers in 2008 and again in 2016, to assess flu prevention measures before and after the 2009 pandemic outbreak of a new strain of H1N1 influenza. Among other things, they looked at flu prevention activities like daily health checks for kids, infection control training for staff, communicating with parents about illness and immunization requirements for children and staff.” Children are great sources for disease transmission and when guardians are needed at work, childcare capacity will be extremely important if a pandemic flu occurs.

Pandora Report 10.28.2016

A leaked report to the UN Security Council from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, states that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad gave the order for the use of chemical weapons in 2015. The ECDC is seeing the initial cases for the 2015/2016 flu season, so make sure to get your flu shot! Science is sharing six science lessons for the next president. A new study finds that the correct antibiotics are only given half the time for common infections. Make sure to celebrate One Health Day on November 3rd!

Spillover: Ebola & Beyond Film Screening and Discussion
Don’t miss this great event at the National Museum of Natural History on Tuesday, November 15th from 6:30-8:30pm. If you loved the PBS documentary this summer, now is your chance to listen to a panel of experts discuss how they track diseases internationally and locally. “The film extends to the new frontiers of disease detection, prevention, and containment, and travels the world with virus hunters who are tracking old enemies while vigilantly looking out for new foes.” Featured speakers will include Vanessa van der Linden, Anthony Fauci, Yvonne-Marie Linton, and LaQuandra S. Nesbitt. Make sure to register before the event if you’d like to attend.

iow-zoonoses-onpgIf you enjoyed the Spillover documentary, check out this one (from the same team at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute who brought you Spillover) on Nipah virus hunters and their use of bat populations to track the disease. It’s a great film on epidemiology, One Health, and how we can study diseases in bat populations to predict outbreaks in humans. The HHMI has all sorts of wonderful disease-tracking goodies, like this one on the patterns of zoonotic diseases or an interactive on viruses. HHMI has some great interactive and fascinating learning tools for adults and children alike. Nothing like a little zoonotic disease lesson before bedtime, right?

MetaBiota Presentation for GMU Students 14875059_1343053735705798_1059784359_n
This week GMU was fortunate to hold an informational session by MetaBiota in which Dr. Kimberly Dodd discussed the organization and what life is like working on shifting emerging infectious disease response to prevention. GMU Biodefense MS student Greg Mercer was able to  listen to her experiences that range from the front lines of virus chasing to work on PREDICT and the factors that lead to zoonotic spillover. Dr. Dodd deployed to Uganda as part of the CDC’s response to the 2012 Marburg virus outbreak and to Sierra Leone during the West African Ebola outbreak. She described the challenges of trying to set up a BSL-4 equivalent laboratory in the field and the stressed of working with dangerous pathogens and noted that even in an outbreak of a high fear-factor disease like Ebola, there is often an international outpouring of volunteers. Experts are enthusiastic to help both for humanitarian reasons and the promise of cutting edge research to be done. Her experiences responding to outbreaks in the field prompted her interest in what preventative measures can be taken to forecast, identify, and mitigate outbreaks faster. She described her work on USAID’s PREDICT project, which seeks to catalogue viruses with potential to become pandemics. In its first 5 years, PREDICT sampled 56,000 animals, ran 400,000 diagnostics, and detected 984 unique viruses, 815 of which were novel. This new data was fed into Healthmap. In later pahses, PREDICT will go on to more closely examine the human-animal dynamics of spillover events.

Fears and Misperceptions of the Ebola Response System during 2014/2015 Outbreak in Sierra Leone
We’re still learning lessons from the worst Ebola outbreak in history, but will we actually apply this knowledge or continue to make the same mistakes? Public perception of public health response systems is a vastly important aspect of any outbreak response, however researchers are pointing to the severity it had on containment in 2014/2015. This study focuses on Sierra Leone and the barriers that prevented people from trusting and utilizing the Ebola response system that was established during the height of the outbreak. Researchers found that most people feared calling the national hotline for some one they believed to have Ebola as it would result in that person’s death. People tended to self medicate if they developed a fever and assumed it was not Ebola. “Fears and misperceptions, related to lack of trust in the response system, may have delayed care-seeking during the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone. Protocols for future outbreak responses should incorporate dynamic, qualitative research to understand and address people’s perception”

Estimating the BioTech Sector’s Contribution to the U.S. Economy screen-shot-2016-10-26-at-2-44-22-am
While the biotech sector has opened the floor for questions over dual-use, there’s no denying its growth. U.S. biotech sector revenue is estimated to have grown on average more than 10% per year over the past decade, which is faster than the rest of the economy..much faster. Data collected from various public and private sources allowed Robert Carlson to pain a much larger picture of what biotech is contributing to the U.S. economy. He found that total domestic U.S. revenue generated by biotech in 2012 reached at least $324 billion, which is the equivalent of >2% of GDP. Biotech revenue growth was >5% of annual U.S. GDP growth every year between 2007 and 2012. While the field is obviously growing, the rapid acceleration also means that there will be decreasing costs and more access to more powerful technology. “Governments around the globe are grappling with the desire to benefit from biotech-driven economic development, while simultaneously facing questions about who should have access to which technology and under what circumstances.” It’s important to not only support and monitor the technologies, but also facilitate data and reporting within the industry as these measurement deficiencies fuels biosecurity concerns. “Alongside the preexisting bioeconomy, we are building a system composed of inherently ‘dual-use’ engineering technologies that will constitute critical infrastructure for the future economy. Assuming that the revenue and growth estimates above are borne out with improved measurement and analysis, biosecurity is now clearly synonymous with economic security. The focus of biosecurity policy must shift from protecting specific targets from specific threats to securing the bioeconomy as a system that increasingly drives economic growth and employment and, ultimately, enables humans to thrive on a global scale.”

Hospitals Add Sinks to Help Fight Infections – Bad Move
Adding more easily accessible hand washing stations is one of the strategies to combating poor compliance and growing infection rates. Unfortunately, there have been some unintended consequences of upping the sink volume. Several hospitals throughout Baltimore, the Netherlands, and Shanghai have noted an increase in infections after adding more sinks (especially in patient rooms). Biofilms were a growing issue, which draws attention to the importance of facility and environmental service maintenance. I was a bit disparaged to see that the article points to the presence of non-sterile water from sinks in rooms with immunocompromised patients. Patients that are severely neutropenic are usually placed into positive pressure rooms (under protective precautions) and almost all hem-oncology units have special water filters on everything in the patient’s room (shower, sink, etc.). The concern for legionella is always an issue for those with weakened immune systems and while it’s important to cut down as much environmental exposure as possible, it’s impractical to think there should be sterile water. Another aspect of this is that patients in pre-op immune-suppression or post-op recovery will be exposed to germs – it’s a simple fact. If you’re concerned about sinks, then the patient should either be in a protective precautions room or you should not allow visitors. A sink is a small piece of the puzzle when it comes to patients that aren’t severely neutropenic. Sink design and cleaning is hugely important, which is another component to hospital infection control as anytime water is temporarily shut off, there needs to be water treatment plans in place, etc. It’s nice to see attention being brought to the environmental aspects of sinks and infection control, however one big aspect of the problem is also that people typically don’t wash their hands correctly. Yes, most people don’t spend the 15-20 seconds correctly lathering, washing all the nooks and crannies of their hands, etc. Needless to say, it takes a village to stop an infection and just one tiny moment to cause one – sinks are just one piece of the pie.

Terrorists Hamper Polio Eradication Efforts in Africa salk_headlines
Global eradication of a disease is never easy, however efforts to rid Africa of polio have encountered barriers that are allowing the disease to resurge. Nigeria has seen lingering polio as a result of “porous borders and shifting populations where travel has been blocked by terrorism.” Despite consistent work and effort to eradicate the disease from Nigeria, it was re-declared endemic in August, which leaves many concerned about it spilling over borders into neighboring countries. While Nigeria has always been a hotspot for polio, there has been increasing religious preaching that parents should not allow vaccination, specifically Muslim imams in Kano state in 2003, claiming that the vaccine had been contaminated to hurt Islamic children. Distrust compounds into lagging vaccination rates and during this time there was a spike in cases, which was coupled with terrorist activity by the Book Haram militia. “They cut off entire provinces, blocking the access needed by teams vaccinating children and epidemiologists counting cases. When the Nigerian military forced the militia out of parts of Borno state, in Nigeria’s northeast corner, the polio campaign discovered that wild polio virus had been circulating there for years.” The area around Lake Chad – Chad, Cameroon, and Niger – all pose problematic for vaccination efforts as the WHO calls the situation a “complex emergency” with more than 150,000 people fleeing across national borders. Despite these challenges, the governments of Nigeria and five nearby countries have initiated a massive emergency vaccination campaign that covers more than five million children per round, of which they’ll perform six rounds. “That may be an even more difficult task than in Afghanistan or Pakistan. In those countries, most of the areas where polio survives are remote, with little traffic in or out. Nigeria, on the other hand, is the most populous country in Africa, and a crossroads for the rest of the continent. There is no quick fix that can make the risk of onward spread go away; it requires yet more of the hard, grinding, repetitive work that eradication campaigners have been doing for almost 30 years.”

Zika Virus – What’s the Latest?
Brits are being warned not to travel to Florida after two British journalists contracted Zika during their travel to the state. The Florida state health department has released their Zika data– there are four new travel associated cases and nine non-travel associated cases. Wellcome Trust medical research charity is warning that we should expect Zika to reach India and Africa. “I think we can anticipate global spread,” said Jeremy Farrar, speaking to the Guardian alongside Sue Desmond-Hellmann, the chief executive officer of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. “Given the [Aedes aegypti] mosquito’s availability across the world, I think the spread will next be across Asia and I think we really have to be prepared for it spreading in Africa. I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t.” The WHO has released their Zika Research Agenda here, with a goal of “supporting the generation of evidence needed to strengthen essential public health guidance and actions to prevent and limit the impact of Zika virus and its complications”. Scientists are still bewildered by Zika’s path through Latin America as cases continue to grow. The CDC has reported 4,091 cases of Zika in the U.S. as of October 26th.

Stories You May Have Missed:

  • The Antibiotic Era Review – Infectious disease physician Amesh Adalja is discussing Dr. Scott Podolsky’s most recent book on antimicrobial resistance. As the realities of microbial resistance grows larger and gains more attention, it’s important to understand that this isn’t a solely modern issue. Dr. Adalja notes that the book should be required for anyone in the field as it takes great care to incorporate details that paint the larger picture of infectious diseases and antibiotics. “As Podolosky illustrates, in the post WWII era, civilization caused infectious diseases to recede in the US at the same time scores of new treatments (i.e. antibiotics) were coming to the market and experts who knew the (now rare) bug and the drugs used to treat them were valuable.” Adding it to our holiday reading list, thanks for the tip Dr. Adalja!
  • Climate & Evolutionary Drivers of Phase Shifts in Plague Epidemics of Colonial India – A recent study is looking at the climatic and evolutionary forces that impact plague epidemics. Researchers looked at the arrival of plague in colonial India through archival data and were able to identify the evolution of resistance in rats as a significant driver of the shifts within seasonal outbreaks. The findings “substantiate the rapid emergence of host heterogeneity and show how evolutionary responses can buffer host populations against environmentally forced disease dynamics.”
  • 2nd International Who’s Who in One Health Webinar – Don’t miss the One Health Commissions’ upcoming webinar on November 4th, 2016. This webinar is a great place to take part in dialogue with One Health leaders, advocates, professionals, and students The webinar is set to start at 7:45am EST and seeks to create new strategic partnerships and networks for collective, purposeful and coordinated action and educate participants about the One Health paradigm and ways of thinking towards improved health outcomes

Pandora Report 8.23.15

We’re starting this update with some big blog news, are you sitting down? This will actually be the last weekend update…at least for a while. We’re in discussion with how to proceed with the blog and social media for GMU Biodefense. Please check back at and on twitter @PandoraReport for updates as they happen.

Looking back, there have been times since I’ve started as managing editor that the news has been sad, or, frankly, downright depressing. So, for this edition, lets focus on some of the good in the world. The first story comes from (probably the nicest human on the face of the Earth) Jimmy Carter. We’ve also got good news about Polio. Then, of course, we’ve got stories you may have missed.

Thank you for reading… and don’t forget to wash your hands!

Jimmy Carter Wants to See the Last Guinea Worm Die Before He Does

This week, former President Jimmy Carter announced that his cancer had spread to his brain. Though many members of his immediate family died from cancer, Carter said “I’m perfectly at ease with whatever comes.” Rather than fear or sadness over his diagnosis, Carter instead focused on meeting one of the long-term goals of his nonprofit organization—the Carter Center—the eradication of Guinea worm. In 1986 when the Carter Center began its work there were 3.5 million cases of across 21 countries. In 2014 there were 126 cases; today, there are 11.

The Huffington Post—“When Guinea worm has been eradicated, it will be only the second time in human history that a disease has been totally wiped out. The first, smallpox, was eradicated in 1977, according to the World Health Organization. Experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that Guinea worm will meet the same fate — a final piece in Carter’s legacy.”

WHO Declares Africa Free of ‘Wild’ Cases of Polio

According to the World Health Organization, Africa has been free of wild cases of Polio since July. This doesn’t mean that there are no cases on the continent; there is still ongoing work in Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia, but transmission of the illness has been interrupted. The director of the Polio Global Eradication Initiative has said that even though Africa is now free of wild cases, there are still challenges when it comes to eradication, for example, surveillance of the disease.

io9—“The goal of the Initiative has been to interrupt the natural transmission (wild cases) of the virus, which seems to be the case so far. The next step, according to WHO, will be to continue to monitor the region for additional cases. If none appear in the next two years, the continent will be certified Polio-Free.”

Stories You May Have Missed

Image Credit: Commonwealth Club

Pandora Report 7.26.15

Mason students are working through their summer courses and I’m happy to say mine is OVER! Let the summer begin (two months late)! This week we’ve got great news about Polio in Nigeria and a somber anniversary in Japan. We’ve also got other stories you may have missed.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and have a great week!

A-Bomb Victims Remembered in Potsdam, Where Truman Ordered Nuclear Strikes

Coming up on the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombs being dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, German and Japanese citizens in the city of Potsdam held a remembrance ceremony for both the victims that died in the blast and the future. Japan has become, according to the former President of the International Court of Justice, the world’s conscience against nuclear weapons and power. Why? Japan is “the only country in the world to have been the victim of both military and civilian nuclear energy, having experienced the crazy danger of the atom, both in its military applications, destruction of life and its beneficial civilian use, which has now turned into a nightmare with the serious incidents of Fukushima.”

Japan Times—“The Potsdam Conference was held between July 17 and Aug. 2 in 1945. The United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6 and another bomb on Nagasaki three days later. On Aug. 15 that year, Emperor Hirohito announced to the nation that Japan had accepted the Potsdam Declaration, in which the United States, Britain and China demanded the nation’s unconditional surrender.”

Nigeria Beats Polio

Very, very, very exciting news: Nigeria has not had a case of polio in a year. A year! This makes Nigeria polio free and the last country in Africa to eliminate the disease. The achievement was possible with contributions from the Nigerian government (where elimination of the disease was a point of “national pride”), UNICEF, the WHO, the CDC, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Rotary International, and other organizations. With Nigeria’s accomplishment, there are only two other countries in the world where polio still exists—Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Voice of America—“Carol Pandek heads Rotary International’s polio program. She told VOA via Skype that a year being polio-free is a milestone for Nigeria, but noted that it is not over. “Now they need to continue to do high quality immunization campaigns for the next several years,” she said, as well as have a strong surveillance system so, should there be any new cases, they can be identified as soon as possible.”

Stories You May Have Missed

Image Credit: Fg2

Pandora Report 7.11.15

Sorry for the late update here at Pandora Report. We’ve got how the plague turned so deadly, an Ebola update, and of course other stories you may have missed.

Have a great week!

These Two Mutations Turned Not-so-Deadly Bacteria Into the Plague

Researchers at Northwestern University have been investigating how Yersinia pestis—the bacteria that causes bubonic, pneumonic, and septicemic plague—became the infective cause of the Black Death. They discovered two mutations that help to explain the bacteria’s lethality.—“The first mutation gave the bacteria the ability to make a protein called Pla. Without Pla, Y. pestis couldn’t infect the lungs. The second mutation allowed the bacteria to enter deeper into the bodies, say through a bite, to infect blood and the lymphatic system. In other words, first the plague grew deadly, then it found a way to leap more easily from infected fleas or rodents to humans.

Ebola Strain Found on Teen in Liberia Genetically Similar to Viruses in Same Area Months Ago

I’m sure you’ve heard that there were three new cases of Ebola in Liberia—a country that was declared free of the disease on May 9. According to the World Health Organization, samples taken from a teenager who died from Ebola two weeks prior indicate that the disease is genetically similar to strains that infected people in the same area over six months ago—while the outbreak was still ongoing.

US News and World Report—“That finding by genetic sequencing suggests it is unlikely the virus was caught from travel to infected areas of Guinea or Sierra Leone, the group said. “It also makes it unlikely that this has been caused by a new emergence from a natural reservoir, such as a bat or other animal,” it said.”

Stories You May Have Missed

Image Credit: en.wikipedia

Pandora Report 6.28.15

It was a big week, right? The Supreme Court was making declarations and in California the General Assembly was making some decisions of their own. We’ve got the mandate for childhood vaccines in California, World War II chemical weapons testing, and other stories you may have missed.

There will be no news round up next week, in honor of one of my favorite holidays, Independence Day! I’ll be wearing red, white, and blue, watching July 4th themed movies, and celebrating with all the American spirit I can muster. I wish all of you the same!

See you back here in July!

California Passes Bill to Require Vaccines and Ban Religious Exemptions

On Thursday, the California State Assembly passed SB 277, which mandates that children attending day care or public school must be vaccinated. The bill eliminated personal-belief and religious exemptions. Largely, this bill was in response to the outbreak of measles that began at Disneyland last year. Children who cannot receive vaccinations for medical reasons can still receive the vaccine exemption. Governor Jerry Brown is expected to sign the bill into law.

Slate—“The New York Times quoted Christina Hildebrand, the founder of A Voice for Choice, a nonprofit organization that has lobbied against the bill, about her unsuccessful campaign to stop this legislation, “There are large numbers of parents who are very concerned about the fact that we’re going to have mandated medical treatment against a fundamental right to education. Parental freedom is being taken away by this, because the fear of contagion is trumping it.’”

Secret World War II Chemical Experiments Tested Troops by Race

According to documents declassified in the 1990s, the U.S. Army conducted secret chemical weapons tests on minority soldiers in order to determine the effect weapons had on non-white skin. African-American and Puerto Rican soldiers were tested upon to see if their darker pigment made them less susceptible to the weapons. Japanese-Americans were used to determine how the weapons would affect enemy Japanese soldiers. The soldiers were subjected to mustard gas and lewisite and volunteered for the assignment.

NPR—“All of the World War II experiments with mustard gas were done in secret and weren’t recorded on the subjects’ official military records. Most do not have proof of what they went through. They received no follow-up health care or monitoring of any kind. And they were sworn to secrecy about the tests under threat of dishonorable discharge and military prison time, leaving some unable to receive adequate medical treatment for their injuries, because they couldn’t tell doctors what happened to them.”

Stories You May Have Missed

Image Credit: David Monniaux

Pandora Report 4.11.15

It’s a public health weekend here at Pandora Report as we check out stories on TB and Polio. We also have other stories you may have missed.

Have a great week and see you back here next weekend!

Ancient Hungarian Crypt Offers Clues to Tuberculosis Origins

As one of the leading infectious disease killers, Tuberculosis, a bacterial infection, holds interest for scientists who disagree over the origins of the human disease. However, a new study in Nature Communications uses a cutting-edge approach called metagenomics to analyze corpses that were naturally mummified in a Hungarian crypt. Of 14 genomes found in eight of the corpses, researchers discovered that multiple strains were circulating in Hungary in the 18th century when these people died.

The Toronto Star—“‘All the historic genomes belonged to lineages that we see today,” said senior author Dr. Mark Pallen, a professor of microbial genomics at the University of Warwick. “So TB hasn’t changed much in 200 years … (and) it turns out that the most common ancestor of the Euro-American lineage that all our (tuberculosis) genomes belonged to dates back to late Roman times.’”

Polio, Cancer—One Nemesis May Counter the Other

Tomorrow, April 12, is the 60th anniversary of when Dr. Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine was declared to be effective. Today, as the world inches closer to full polio eradication, interesting news highlighted on “60 Minutes” looks at the polio virus’ ability to kill another lethal illness—Cancer. A genetically engineered strain of polio virus appears to thwart lethal brain cancer tumors.

The Huffington Post—“The modified polio virus seems to deactivate the cancer tumor’s ability to defeat immune capacities. Freed up, the immune system works at defeating the tumor. Miraculously, the immunotherapy workings spare healthy tissues, while killing cancer cells.”

Stories You May Have Missed

Image Credit: Pudelek

Pandora Report 2.15.15

It’s the last holiday weekend before the summer and its too cold to go outside! Don’t worry, we’ve got some good reading while you’re staying warm inside: antibiotic resistance, U.S. Troops leaving West Africa, a new vaccine for polio and LOTS of stories you may have missed.

Enjoy your Monday holiday and have a safe and healthy week!

Rivers Can Be a Source of Antibiotic Resistance

As the U.S. Government increases its funding to fight growing antibiotic resistance, a study coming out of the University of Warwick’s School for Life Sciences and the University of Exeter Medical School points to rivers and streams as a major source of antibiotic resistance in the environment. The study of the Thames River found that greater numbers of resistant bacteria existed close to some wastewater treatment plants and that these plants are likely “to be responsible for at least half of the increase observed.”

R&D Magazine—“The team also found that several other factors affected the prevalence of antibiotic resistance, such as changes in rainfall and land cover. For example, heavy rainfall at a point surrounded by grassland raised resistance levels; whereas a heavy rainfall at a point surrounded by woodland reduced the levels seen.”

U.S. Bringing Home Almost All Troops Sent to Africa in Ebola Crisis

The U.S. military is bringing home nearly all troops that were sent to West Africa 10 months ago in order to fight the Ebola outbreak. This withdrawal comes at a time where 700 homes in Sierra Leone were put under quarantine after a new case was diagnosed in Freetown. Quarantine seems like a smart move, since researchers have now confirmed that the virus can remain contagious on a dead body for up to a week. Despite troops leaving, testing has begun in Liberia for two potential vaccine candidates.

CNN—“[Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John] Kirby said about 100 military service members will remain in West Africa to support the 10,000 civilian responders who remain. These service members will “build on a strong military partnership with the Armed Forces of Liberia to enhance their Ebola response efforts and provide disaster response training to the government of Liberia,” he said.”

Synthetic Vaccine Sought to Finally Eradicate Polio

While, after six months of no new cases, Africa is close to wiping out wild polio, a team of international scientists are working to create a wholly artificial vaccine to combat the disease. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Health Organization are providing a $647,000 grant to create an entirely synthetic approach that will address shortcomings in the existing vaccine. This new vaccine would be entirely virus free.

BBC—“…the existing oral vaccine uses a weakened version of the virus as its stimulus to provoke a response and protection in the patient. And in just a few particular individuals, this can set up an infection in the gut that then enables a reactivated virus to pass out of the body and spread to other, unvaccinated people.

But if the virus particle has no genetic machinery this transmission route is closed, and the World Health Organization and the Gates Foundation is to fund the scientists to engineer just such particle for use as a replacement vaccine.”

Stories You May Have Missed

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Pandora Report 2.1.15

No themed coverage this week, sadly. However, we’ve got stories covering the Federal fight against antibiotic resistance, ISIS airstrikes, and super mosquitoes in Florida. All this in addition to stories you may have missed.

Have a fun Super Bowl Sunday (go team!) and a safe and healthy week!

Obama Asking Congress to Nearly Double Funding to Fight Antibiotic Resistance to $1.2 Billion

One of The White House’s goals for 2015 was to combat growing antibiotic resistance through research into new antibiotics and efforts to prevent the over prescription of these vital drugs. President Obama is requesting that Congress add additional funding to this fight, bringing the total to $1.2 billion. The funding will be a start, but there are many other things that can happen in order to fight this extremely important problem.

U.S. News & World Report—“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says more than 23,000 Americans die every year from infections that can withstand some of the best antibiotics. The World Health Organization said last year that bacteria resistant to antibiotics have spread to every part of the world and might lead to a future where minor infections could kill.”

Air Strike Kills IS ‘Chemical Weapons Expert’

News came Saturday morning that U.S. airstrikes in Iraq last week killed a mid-level Islamic State militant who specialized in chemical weapons. Killed on January 24, Abu Malik had worked at Saddam Hussein’s Muthana chemical weapons production facility before joining Al-Qaeda in Iraq in 2005.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty—“Officials say his death could “temporarily degrade” the group’s ability to produce and use chemical weapons. Coalition air strikes have pounded the Mosul area over the past week [and] The U.S.-led coalition has carried out more than 2,000 air raids against IS militants in Syria and Iraq since August 8.”

Millions of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Could Fight Disease in Florida

On January 11, we had a small note about the possibility of genetically modified mosquitos controlling diseases like chikungunya and dengue, but this week coverage on this issue absolutely exploded! British biotech firm Oxitec plans to release millions of genetically modified mosquitos in Florida to control the existing population and help control the spread of these diseases. The A. Aegypti species of mosquito is extremely prevalent in Florida and recently has become resistant to most chemical pesticides. Residents, of course, are up in arms over the potential release of this “mutant mosquito”.

The Weather Channel—“Technology similar to this is already in use in Florida and other states, Entomology Today points out. Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) employs a similar technique, sterilizing insects so that when they mate, no offspring are produced. “Florida spends roughly $6 million a year using SIT to prevent Mediterranean fruit fly infestations, while California spends about $17 million a year,” Entomology Today wrote.”

Stories You May Have Missed

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons


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 Download Full Day's HansardDownload Full Day's Hansard    View Or Save XMLView/Save XML

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Wednesday, 13 October 1971
Page: 2233

Mr CHIPP - I present the following petition:

To The Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives in Parliament assembled. The petition of the undersigned respectfully sheweth:

That death from mass starvation and disease is occurring among Pakistan's refugees on a scale unprecedented in modern history.

That, as part of the world community, the Australian Government has an immediate responsibility for concerted action.

Your petitioners most humbly pray that the House of Representatives in Parliament assembled, should:

Increase monetary aid for the refugees to at least$5m immediately, even if this entails reduced spending in other areas.

Encourage and sponsor teams of volunteers with needed skills and medical supplies.

Maintain all this aid for as long as the crisis persists.

And your petitioners as in dutybound will ever pray.

Petition received.

Suggest corrections

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Basic and Location Widgets

Basic Widget

Our "Basic Widget" provides a clean and simple tracked and attributed referral to flight search on the page or a White Label. Users will be asked to enter any required details to perform a search on our site.

Location Widget

The "Location Widget" gives users a pre-filled destination for flight search on our site, allowing them to perform a search immediately on a White Label and leaves them with less details to select when referred to

This widget is best used alongside content about a specific location, giving users a quick link to search for flights to that destination.

Widget options

GEO-IP lookup

Widgets can utilise GEO-IP to infer an origin location, which can help encourage more click throughs. This can be achieved by adding data-origin-geo-lookup="true" in the code snippet.

Both Basic and Location widgets' titles are customizable with the "data-title" attribute.

For the Location Widget, you can use the {location} tag inside your custom title. This tag will be substituted with a destination location name, which is specified in any valid way (for example, by setting the "location" parameter from the "data-params" attribute, or by specifying the "data-destination-name" attribute).

An example of a custom title:

Colour customization

Basic and Location widgets can be displayed in any colour.

To set the widget colour, use the "data-colour" attribute on your widget (or the "colour" option in the "data-params" attribute) and set it to a predefined name or hex code you want.

The text colour on your widget is automatically chosen to contrast well with the background, so you only have to do half the work!

See the example below for widget implementations using a range of colour settings.

Icon customization

An Airplane icon can be replaced with an Arrow icon for both Basic and Location widgets.

For this, please set the "data-arrow-icon" attribute to true:


text:
Solar Power Matters To Letterman In His Retirement

I noted last year that David Letterman would be dealing with climate change in his first major post-retirement television gig.  As part of the second season of Years of Living Dangerously (now on the National Geographic channel), Letterman went to India to talk energy.  His episode will premiere on October 30, and there are now some video clips.

This first one focuses on Letterman’s interview with the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi.

The second clip is about solar panels and reflects Letterman’s previous work in late night.

The program typically airs two ‘stories’ in each episode.  In addition to Letterman’s story, the October 30 premiere will include Saturday Night Live cast member Cecily Strong investigating the adoption (or not) of solar power in the United States.  Continuing the late night trend, Aasif Mandvi, former correspondent for The Daily Show, is part of another episode in Season 2, focusing on how changes in drought patterns affect wildlife populations.

Disproving Star Trek Can Be A Good Thing, At Least Where Whales Are Concerned

While this week marks the 50th anniversary of the first Star Trek episode on television, this year marks the 30th anniversary of the fourth Star Trek film – The Voyage Home.  The shorthand for this film is ‘the one with the whales.’  Kirk and company travel back to Earth and find it suffering from the emanations of a probe seeking to talk to humpback whales.  In the history of Star Trek, that species of whale went extinct in the 21st century, so a time travel adventure ensues.

While we still have some time to screw things up for the humpback whales, things seem to be headed in a better direction.  The U.S. government has removed most of the humpback whale species from the endangered species list (H/T ScienceInsider).  NOAA Fisheries listed the species as endangered in 1970, and the International Whaling Commission has protected the species since the 1960s.

As part of a reconception of how to protect the species, NOAA Fisheries has identified 14 distinct populations of humpback whales.  Of those 14 populations, it considers 9 of them to have recovered sufficiently to be removed from the endangered list.  Four of the populations remain endangered and one is considered threatened.  FWIW, the whales in the film were in captivity, but were released in a part of the oceans where some of the populations that feed remain threatened or endangered.

Can we continue on this trend for at least the rest of the century?  I sure hope so.  As much as I’d like us to be as far along in space as the 21st century history of Star Trek suggests we are, I’m happy to have avoided various wars and at least one extinction.  May the humpbacks continue to live long and prosper.

UN Environment Programme Hosting First Science-Policy Forum

The second United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) is in Nairobi, Kenya from May 23-27.  The UNEA is the biennial meeting of the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP), and preceding the main assembly UNEP has organized a Science-Policy Forum for May 19-20.  Consistent with the agenda of the UNEA, the focus of the forum will be on the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.  Specifically, the presentations will focus on the scientific and other knowledge necessary for informed decision making in support of the Sustainable Development Agenda.

There is a draft agenda available that lists some more specific desired outcomes for the event:

  • Better understanding of the Science-Policy Interface
  • Proposed actions for strengthening the Science-Policy Interface
  • Strengthened partnerships between the science community and UNEP
  • Policy-relevant assessment findings provided by the science community to policymakers
  • Increased focus on the importance of data for reporting against the Sustainable Development Goals
  • Increased networking among scientific organisations
  • Awareness raising of the science behind emerging environmental issues
  • Identification of frontier issues for UNEP 2017 Frontiers Report

Save for a keynote session, the first day will have tracks covering various development-relevant sectors of science.  The second day presentations are focused on identifying challenges and other items for inclusion in the Frontiers Report.  Sir Peter Gluckman, Chair of the International Network for Government Science Advice (INGSA), will give a keynote and be part of a panel including several current or former governmental officials involved in science advise and/or the environment and science and environment writer Andy Revkin.

Newest Medal Of Freedom Recipients Include Figures In Science And Science Policy

President Obama recognized the latest recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom earlier today in a ceremony at the White House.  It’s the highest civilian honor a president can bestow for services to the country, and this year’s group include two people recognized for their contributions to science or science policy.

Katherine Johnson is a mathematician whose work for the government included service at NASA and its predecessor agency, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA).  Her 33 year career at both agencies included calculations critical to every human spaceflight program from Mercury through the Space Shuttle.  As one of the first African American women who worked for NACA and NASA, Johnson has also worked hard to encourage other women and minorities to pursue education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Also recognized this week is William Ruckelshaus, a two-time Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  He was the first to head the agency, serving from 1970-1973 under President Nixon.  Ruckelshaus instituted the U.S. ban on the pesticide DDT.  He returned to the agency as President Reagan’s second EPA Administrator from 1983-1985.  Ruckelshaus also served as Deputy Attorney General and Acting FBI Director during the Nixon Administration, and was involved in environmental protection matters during the 1960s in Indiana.  Now living in Washington state, Ruckelshaus has kept active in local and national ocean and environmental matters, being appointed to various panels by both President Clinton and President George W. Bush.

Congratulations to both Ruckelshaus and Williams, and the other medal recipients.

Tell The Government How To Update Its Biotechnology Regulations

Back in July the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) announced that it would be leading an interagency effort to review and update the Coordinated Framework for the Regulation of Biotechnology (Framework). Part of the effort would include soliciting public input on both updates to the Framework and the development of a long-term strategy for dealing with emerging biotechnologies.

Last week the OSTP published a Request for Information (RFI) in the Federal Register seeking that public input.  The submission deadline is 5 pm Eastern time, November 13.

Here are the questions listed in the RFI (the product areas and agency roles are summarized in the RFI and available in the Background section of the memorandum sent to agencies on this effort):

  1. What additional clarification could be provided regarding which biotechnology product areas are within the statutory authority and responsibility of each agency?
  2. What additional clarification could be provided regarding the roles that each agency plays for different biotechnology product areas, particularly for those product areas that fall within the responsibility of multiple agencies, and how those roles relate to each other in the course of a regulatory assessment?
  3. How can Federal agencies improve their communication to consumers, industry, and other stakeholders regarding the authorities, practices, and bases for decision-making used to ensure the safety of the products of biotechnology?
  4. Are there relevant data and information, including case studies, that can inform the update to the CF [Coordinated Framework] or the development of the long-term strategy regarding how to improve the transparency, coordination, predictability, and efficiency of the regulatory system for the products of biotechnology?
  5. Are there specific issues that should be addressed in the update of the CF or in the long-term strategy in order to increase the transparency, coordination, predictability, and efficiency of the regulatory system for the products of biotechnology?

While submissions can be submitted by regular mail, electronic submission is preferred.  Please see the Federal Register notice for additional information.

BBC And PBS Collaborate On Live Nature Television From The Monterey Bay

Big Blue Live is a co-production of BBC Worldwide and PBS that will air in the UK starting next Sunday, and in the U.S. starting August 31.  The live broadcasts will focus on the Monterey Bay area and the aquatic life that usually travels through the region at this time of the year.  As befits a live event in this era, there will be opportunities to watch online and comment on the action via social media.  But with the staggered broadcast schedules (the event will end in the UK the night before it starts in the US), it won’t be quite as global as it could be.

The Monterey Bay is part of the eponymous National Marine Sanctuary, so the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will be part of the program, along with the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute and the Seymour Marine Discovery Center.  Parts of the program will air live from the deck of a NOAA research vessel as well as the aquarium.

Big Blue Live will air in the UK on August 23, 27 and 30.  In the U.S. it will air August 31-September 2, with live feeds for both the East and West coasts.

Nominations Sought For Sustained National Climate Assessment Advisory Committee

The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) has produced three national climate assessments since 2000.  The program is also developing a sustained assessment process to provide a more robust climate change information source.  It would inform both the quadrennial assessments and other elements of the USGCRP.

To assist in that end, there will be an Advisory Committee for the Sustained National Climate Assessment.  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has chartered the Committee, and will forward its work to the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy.  The Committee would provide advice on the engagement of stakeholders and on sustained assessment activities and the quadrennial National Climate Assessment report.

NOAA is seeking nominations for the committee, which will close on September 14.  The call for nominations says that the committee should have people with the following areas of expertise:

  • Communications, engagement, and education;
  • Risk management and risk assessment;
  • Economics and social sciences;
  • Technology, tools, and data systems; and
  • Climate change and variability, including impacts and societal responses

Individuals can self-nominate or nominate another individual.  An application package is required, which includes the individuals contact information, institutional affiliation, area of expertise, short description of qualifications and a résumé (no longer than four pages).  Consult the call for nominations for how to submit this information.


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jfk-answering-quesitonsBefore I get into what was said, I have to share a little background. Many of the things I speak about with my guides in Spirit world, are an ongoing conversation. The topics are always ‘personal and spiritual growth’ in nature. What I love the most, is they eventually complete the circle for me. A vision of mine that may have started years ago, will come to fruition at some point. (Patience is my biggest message this lifetime.) This is what I am seeing with JFK. He’s stepping in at just the time when we need to know this.

the-holodeckFor many years I’ve seen in my meditations the hologram we’ve put ourselves in for this lifetime. The lesson is not how to get out of it, but how to make it disappear. For if we merely step out of it, it’s still there for us to go back into when/if things get challenging again. This time—this lifetime—there is no going back. But what comes next? Where will we be and what will we see after it’s gone?

From what I know and what I’ve seen during readings and in visions, we all have our own box or hologram room. (Yes, it’s just like the one you see on Star Trek.) What we see is all a perception of what we are allowing ourselves to see. We are the one in the control booth and the one viewing and playing out the scene. Most of us have not even given it a thought that there could be anything else beyond this hologram…until recently. If we are going to change anything, it’s going to have to be done in this box. There’s no getting out of the ‘box.’

We sit on the couch here in our box and keep changing the channel looking for something else to watch—some other version of ourselves. What’s holding us on the couch? Fear could be a big reason. For others, they could not even know there is an option to leave this room.

hologram-disappearingThere is a way out of the matrix (what some like to call it). JFK’s arrival last week took me out of my usual thinking. I don’t know what it is about him that caused this new communication with me. He must be the one in charge of Matrix Discussions. If he’s ready, I am ready too.

If you haven’t read my first conversation with him, you can find it here.

Here’s what went down during our second conversation:

Donna: JFK this morning, comes in and I see him saying, “Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock” I say, But there is no time. Why are you ticking a clock?

JFK: There is no time, but yet time, is slipping away. Your moments slip when you do not recognize what is in them. When you do not call yourself to the present moment. The present moment slips away with each tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock. Each click is a call to the present moment. Each click of your clock is a call to the present moment. That’s how quickly the present moment disappears. The click of the clock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock

Donna: So, in that quick moment, of the tick and then it’s gone, what do we do?

JFK: This is where the silence comes in. This is where the meditation comes in. Even within one breath there are many tick-tock, tick-tocks. Even within one breath, there are many present moments.

Donna: Oh, that’s huge. So, to think, what I thought before, that one full breath is a present moment, what you are saying is, there are many present moments inside what I might think is my present moment.

JFK: Yep. Crazy, huh?

Donna: All right. So we all need to know more now. What? Wh… I don’t know. I don’t get it.

JFK: Well, if there is no time in that tick of your clock, there’s thousands of years, hundreds, thousands of moments, in that one tick. Acknowledge it first. Acknowledge there is more than what you perceive as your time. Remember when you sat on that cushion Donna, and that one tick of your clock—in that one tick of your clock—there were thousands of moments. (He’s talking here about over 15 years ago, when I was taken out of my body for hours and only one second has passed in real time)

Connect with the realm where there are thousands of moments in one tick of the clock. Know that you have more and more available to you than you think. So now, when you take an inhale, notice how long the inhale is. Notice not from your physical 3-D world, notice it from my space. Call me in and I will show you how long an inhale really can be. The length of what you perceive as forever, for there is no time. There is no time. Time doesn’t fly. You can fly. You can come here. You can feel this vastness of space. It’s right there. Slow down. It’s right there.

Donna: *Breath. Inside one inhale are a thousand moments. Inside one exhale are a thousand more moments.

JFK: Oh the power of a moment.

Donna: You just sent me even deeper down a rabbit hole. I’ve always viewed there is no time. I get there is no time. I also get now that what I perceive as time is ticking away faster…slower, than I think?? I don’t know. I’m going to have to sit with this one. But in my head now, I see space in its infinite. I see there is so much in this space that I’m sitting in right now. It’s empty right now. What does that mean? JFK? The space I see right now is just this huge room of nothingness.

JFK: You’ve found it. You’ve made your way to…this. You’ve emptied the old patterns of your box, your matrix. You’ve emptied the old. Now you stand here. What is around you?

Donna: Nothing but space. But I still see some walls, way off in the distance.

JFK: Sure, you’re going to get there. There will be a few more walls. But as you fill that space—remember love is going to fill it—as you fill that space with love, it extends and extends and extends. And don’t worry, love will break down those walls. You, as a physical, don’t need to play with that. Your soul now has the room to expand. Here it is, Donna. Expand, expand, expand. Look at the space!

Donna: So much space! I love it. I love it! Are all my guides still here in this space?

JFK: We are here more than ever. Because we are the space. You’ve reached us. When you reach this space you’ve reached where we all are, and in this space, now we become One. Even more than what you thought, yes. In this space, it’s not nothingness, it’s creation. It’s where we are going to create. We will help you if you ask.

Donna: Totally asking. Help me to create love. Love for me and love for my body; love for all around me. Trees, grass, ocean, sand, and all the souls now that will be here, that will come now that I’ve opened space. I feel like I could skate here. It’s huge…I can’t even call it a color. There is no color for it.

JFK: Love can be any color. You can paint anything in here.

Donna: You’re still saying ‘in here.’ I still feel like it’s a big box.

JFK: Sure, because that’s your view, that’s your perception. And what do we know about perception?

Donna: I can heal it. I heal my perception right now of what I see. I heal my perception of this box, of this emptiness, of that I think there is a wall. I heal my perception.

I see it now. I already see the walls breaking down to reveal a heck of a lot more space.

JFK: It’s so simple right? So simple. Thank you for your work in getting so many here. Thank you. I am honored to be speaking through you.

Donna: I am honored also.

JFK: Skate Donna, skate.

Donna: It’s beautiful here.

Good luck, my readers. I’ve had to read this a few times and recall my vision. I can’t express enough how instrumental visualizing something can be. Let me know if you have questions.

Share and ‘like’ this. Not only does it encourage me, it helps others see it!

It is my pleasure to be of service,

Interdimensional has become my new reality.


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Elegant Scaffolding

We recently received the happy news that several of our staff will share a poster about the pavilion project at DHSI in Summer 2014. Not only will this represent the first public demonstration of our in-process model, it represents the first time our English department team members have presented a professional poster. We asked our colleagues in architecture, “Do you all ever make these?” The GRAs laughed, as they generate these routinely, sometimes weekly, for group critiques in the College of Design.

We’ve reached an interesting moment in the project when conversations are turning to what and how we collectively plan to share. As a group, we’ve agreed since the start on preliminary long-term plans for the project. The poster has pushed us to decide upon what, in the parlance of research offices, might be the project’s discrete “outcomes” along the way. Now seeing the horizon of the project’s seed funding, what sorts of incremental successes can we deliver? And given the competitiveness of larger implementation funding for such projects, how might we structure the project to succeed as a research platform even given the absence of such support in the future?

Octagon Frame_Composite.smaller

We have some plans and have adjusted our research and production schedule to hopefully share the initial models at DHSI. For me, this has valuably complicated my naive thinking about projects beyond the spectrum of proposal -> process -> product. Many conversations in humanities computing and DH have emphasized process as itself a viable outcome of the work. In other words, work in DH even if necessarily inconclusive delivers lessons about how we conceptualize, execute, and reflect on our scholarly suppositions. In a similar spirit, our architecture GRAs have advised us to approach a poster as a statement of process, rather than as a billboard for a completed exercise. At the same time, I’ve felt a weariness in the DH community and in its interlocutors about seeming stuck in process, about re-engineering shortcomings as a model for success or what has been called the importance of failure. As a digital media librarian objected at a recent THATCamp: You know what’s better than failure? Actually making something that works.

That can be a tall order given the scale and ambition of the digital humanities and interdisciplinary projects that scholars, students, and staff have been encouraged to imagine. It also sets up a false binary that breaks down during the experience of project management. Bethany Nowviskie calls this necessary realization “graceful degradation“: how we imagine and plan for the fruitful afterlives of projects given the shifting sands of funding and sustainability. What about envisioning this from the start of the project, as opposed to its end, in the same spirit? Projects can equally possess a “elegant scaffolding” to deliver useful structures throughout their life cycle.

In journalism, the “inverted pyramid” refers to the technique of front-loading essential content in a news story, starting with the lede. The farther the article goes, the more it can dilate to compass the details and implications of its central story. The motivation here isn’t just satisfying readers pressed for time: it’s to defend the integrity of your story from a ruthless editor who, pressed for space, might cut it anywhere. Along the same lines, what sorts of deliverable milestones can a project gracefully envision from its outset, as if it were periodically abbreviated? Beyond process-based lessons about, say, a half-built virtual model of a historical building, what can we generate along the timeline of our gradually increasing investments of time and research?

For the pavilion project, our GRAs are generating virtual scaffolding of escalating detail and grace. It’s our job, as a team, to envision and deliver gradual implementations of our collaborative work, inclusive of lessons about process as well as stuff that, in a variety of scales and contexts, actually works. Stay tuned.

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Global Week of Action Against Gun Violence June 15-21

June 3, 2009

It is less than 2 weeks until the Global Week of Action Against Gun Violence 15-21 June 2009. Please consider helping to launch IPPNW’s new “Medical Voices Against Violence:Your Story” project during this week.

Send us your stories in advance, or collect stories at your medical schools or hospitals during the Week of Action. It’s easy to record a short story – just use your digital camera and record a 1-3 minute story about an incident of gun violence you experienced, or happened in your community or to someone you know like a family member, friend, or patient– introduce yourself at the beginning with your first name only, what you do (medical student, doctor et.) and your country – then tell your short story and how if affected you as a health professional. If you can’t record a story, write one and send us a photo of you and we will print them together. Contact me for how to transmit big video files. Let’s make this a worldwide IPPNW event!

Other ideas for activities:

  • Hold a “teach-in” or hospital “grand rounds” on small arms violence and health, using the IPPNW Aiming for Prevention PowerPoint, and/or One Bullet Stories that are on IPPNW’s web site. ( Contact me for a copy of the PPT). Or, use modules from the WHO TEACH-VIP curriculum.
  • Write an op-ed or letters to the editor to local newspapers about the human suffering from gun violence in your country
  • Organize as many doctors, nurses and other medical professionals as possible to have a public event/press conference to provide “testimony” about victims of violence they have treated in their hospitals, and call for more violence prevention initiatives in the community.
  • Call your local radio station or newspaper reporter and ask them to conduct an interview with you about health effects of violence – if you need materials, contact us.
  • Investigate if your medical school has any financial investments in gun manufacturers. If so, hold a press conference to call for divestment.
  • Faces/stories of violence exhibit – Collect photos/stories from newspapers of shootings/other violence over the past year in your area, paste on posters, and organize an educational exhibit at your school, library or other venue – call the press to come publicize.
  1. ken permalink
    June 5, 2009 1:21 pm

    Aiming for Prevention. During this coming week, we will be meeting to do our bit for the prevention of violence. It involves training, both mental and physical, in honing skills and equipment inspection and preparation. We will be taking out our Homeland Security Tools, and giving them a workout in preparation for days of violence and unrest that we hope will never come to our homes.

    Our tools are varied, ranging from mid-1800’s to very modern, but mostly of 1920’s to 1970’s range of technical vintage. Many are US made, but German, Russian, Swedish, Finnish, and even a few from eastern europe.

    We are Riflemen. We practice real Arms Control, and most are good to go to 300 yards, some a couple multiples of that. Most of us have military experience, a couple from WW2, korea, most from Vietnam and more recent. It is our combined experience that has taught us that for there to be peace, some must be ready for the worst alternatives imaginable.

    Please ponder the fact that the majority of military experienced veterans quietly practice without video, news stories, or political ambitions. We don’t
    recruit, write letters, or march in demonstrations. We live freedom, and quietly practice Arms Control.

  1. Global Week of Action Against Gun Violence 2009 June 15 – 21 « The Coalition for Gun Control/Pour le Controle des Armes
  2. Global Week of Action Against Gun Violence June 15-21 « The Coalition for Gun Control/Pour le Controle des Armes
  3. Global Week of Action Against Gun Violence June 15-21

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The reason can be summed up in one word - "защищающихся." The English transliteration is something like this - "Zashtsheyeshtshauoushtsheyekhsua." No other explanation is necessary. :)) To read about my Russian language classes and see my impressive Cyrillic handwriting, look here. This birthday greeting was created for one of my Russian friends a few years ago. Can you understand my Russian? :)

Actually I stopped studying Russian because I became unfocused and didn't have time to work as a lawyer, maintain this blog, and be a linguistic scholar. It's a very difficult language for a native English speaker to learn, and it serves absolutely no purpose in my professional or personal life. All of my Russian friends in the U.S. and abroad speak English very well, and I know enough basic Russian phrases to exchange pleasantries with strangers during my visits to the country. English - the international language for tourism in most parts of the world and in my profession as a lawyer. The same for science and medicine, no matter how many times people try to argue with me about this fact or the need for English signs in Moscow. "Let them learn Russian and Cyrillic!," the most common response when I complain about the lack of English language tourism infrastructure in the country. Do you really think it's necessary for a foreigner to learn a language when they're spending only one week of their entire life in the country where it's spoken?  I don't, although it will certainly make your life easier if you take a few hours to at least memorize the Cyrillic alphabet, which isn't that hard to master. Happy Sunday to all! :)

Jan. 10th, 2016 05:42 pm (UTC)
Совершенно верно! Но вообще в английском слов больше, чем в русском. Самый богатый в лексическом отношении язык мира.

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