Air pollution is a complex and multifaceted issue. Cleaning up our air can be a secret weapon in addressing some of society’s biggest challenges together, from public health to climate change, children’s development and sustainable economic growth. By working together, have a golden opportunity to make action on air pollution …
At a recent meeting of the World Medical Association in usa, doctors warned that terrorists could very easily get hold of biological weapons. Donald Henderson, senior advisor on bioterrorism to the us government, said: "At the top of the list is smallpox, followed by anthrax, plague and botulinum toxin.' According …
US scientists have mooted a database containing genetic details of all types of bacteria and viruses that are potential bioweapon agents. It is felt that such a record will give scientists quick answers in the event of a major attack. The experts made this and a host of similar suggestions …
According to a General Accounting Office (gao) review, the us Center for Disease Control and Prevention (cdc), Atlanta, Georgia, which is supposed to keep track of dangerous pathogens, is not functioning efficiently. The gao review began in November 2001, following a series of anthrax attacks in the wake of the …
Despite being at the receiving end of the post-9/11 anthrax attacks, the us is drifting away from the convention that seeks to ban biological weapons. On top of it, Washington has readied a plan for vaccinating us troops against smallpox and enhancing its biodefence infrastructure. Against this backdrop, the country's …
• To enact national criminal legislation against prohibited bioweapon (BW) activities • To establish an effective UN procedure for investigating suspicious disease outbreaks on allegation of BW use • To put in place a process for addressing BWC compliance concerns • To strive to improve international disease control and to …
2003: There will be consultations on national measures to implement the prohibitions of the convention, and to ensure the security of pathogenic microorganisms and toxins. 2004: The process will concentrate on enhancing international capabilities for responding to, investigating and mitigating the effects of the alleged use of bioweapons on suspicious …
Biological agents, which can be used to harm crops or livestock, pose a potential threat to the agriculture sector in the us. The country needs a comprehensive plan to shore up its defences against such bioterrorism, states a new report of the National Academies' National Research Council (nrc). The document …
THE IRRITABLE HEART: THE MEDICAL MYSTERY OF THE GULF WAR Jeff Wheelwright . W W Norton & Company . New York . 2001 . 427 pages Bill is 46 and a military veteran in the United States. In February 1991, during the Persian Gulf War, he was based north of …
the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (bwc), banning biological and toxin weapons, has reached a stalemate with the us proposing the termination of the ad hoc group (ahg) at the Fifth bwc Review Conference that was held in Geneva from November 19 to December 7. Ironically, despite the September 11 terrorist …
I Not to develop, produce, stockpile or acquire biological and toxin agents, weapons II To destroy existing stocks III Not to transfer technology or assist others IV To take national measures V To consult and cooperate in solving problems VI Can lodge complaint with the UN Security Council VII To …
Given the lack of ability and desire around the world to get to the root of the global conflicts, it was clear to many of us a decade ago that bioterrorism and biological warfare would soon be upon us. Therefore, when Saddam Hussain said during the Iraq-Kuwait conflict in 1991 …
the attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York, usa, have not only changed the skyline of world's business capital, but also the world's perception of terrorism. Even as shocked Americans came to terms with the attacks, the us government issued warnings of a possible attack by terrorists using …
We have entered an era of great hope and promise, of advancing human health and well-being and of social and economic progress. The shape of things to come can be visualised with a rough timetable. Will the new order of things reduce and eventually eliminate the inequities and disparities that …
should the last known samples of the smallpox virus be destroyed or preserved for medical research? Or, should the vials of virus continue to remain in deep-freeze in case a future enemy develops it into a biological weapon? These are some of the questions at the heart of an on-going …
in his book, Biohazard , a defector from the Soviet germ-warfare programme, Kanatjan Alibekov, has written that Soviet researchers tried to turn HIV, the AIDS causing virus, into a weapon. Even as the last Soviet president, Mikhail Gorbachev, pursued peace openings with the West, he ordered a vast expansion of …
scientists in the us have called for genetic maps to be made of all the possible pathogens that could be used as biological weapons. Such information could be used to develop quick tests to detect and thwart any attack by other countries or terrorists, they claim. Speaking at a meeting …
the Trojan horse myth is all about deceit, stealth and camouflaging. If only the Trojan soldiers knew who was inside, the ancient tale would have ended differently. Centuries have passed, but the problem of the Trojan horse still endures. Soldiers hidden inside the wooden structure, over time, have given way …
MICROSCOPIC glass beads wrapped in artificial cell membranes have been made to glow red in the presence of cholera. Chemists in New Mexico, USA, say detectors with the beads can 'sniff' out cholera bugs in hospitals and disaster zones before people fall ill - and that the technology could also …
