The public can now access information about active wildfires across the country using smartphones. The newly designed GeoMAC, a near real-time web mapping service hosted by the U.S. Geological Survey, is now available through any web browser compatible with mobile devices.
FLIR Systems Inc. announced it has received a delivery order for FLIR IBAC™ 2 biological agent detector systems to support the United States Forces Korea. The FLIR IBAC 2 is a real-time air monitor that alarms in less than 60 seconds when an airborne biothreat, such as spore, viral, cellular, and protein toxins, are present, then collects, preserves, and transmits data to command and control centers.
To ensure bomb technicians employ cutting-edge technology as they address evolving threats, the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate created the Response and Defeat Operations Support (REDOPS) program. REDOPS connects the 466 bomb squads of varying sizes and budgets across the country with the tools and information they need to perform their duties better, faster, and more safely.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Office of Public Health Genomics, has launched a new CDC-Authored Genomics Publication Database. This new database is a valuable resource for CDC staff, providing its genomics community a portal to access scientific publications in genomics research and a means to track progress on this research at the CDC.
Imagine a natural disaster scenario, such as an earthquake, that inflicts widespread damage to buildings and structures, critical utilities, and infrastructure, as well as threatens human safety. Having the ability to navigate the rubble and enter highly unstable areas could prove invaluable to saving lives or detecting additional hazards among the wreckage. Partnering rescue personnel with robots to evaluate high-risk scenarios and environments can help increase the likelihood of successful search and recovery efforts, or other critical tasks while minimizing the threat to human teams.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s wide-ranging public health responsibilities include the vital role they play on the frontlines of national security by facilitating the development and availability of safe and effective medical countermeasures. The agency has recently taken steps to facilitate the development of medical countermeasures to protect Americans from smallpox, nerve agent, and certain insecticide poisonings, as well as the treatment of U.S. military personnel with severe or life-threatening hemorrhage.
To combat deadly infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria or bioterrorism agents, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response will partner with the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) Defense Threat Reduction Agency and Spero Therapeutics Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts, to develop a drug that could become the first oral antibiotic in its class.
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident identified a need for a systematic platform where accurate information could be easily shared. Since 2015, the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate has worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to fill that need. RadResponder is identified as the national system for radiation data aggregation and the standard resource for giving emergency managers a common operating picture.
On July 7, President Trump signed the Firefighter Cancer Registry Act of 2018. The Act requires the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop and maintain a voluntary registry of firefighters. Information in the registry will be used to improve monitoring of cancer incidents among firefighters and to collect and publish information about the occurrences of cancer among this population.
Faculty at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security have developed a new degree track at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health for US and international students who are passionate about taking a leadership role in preventing, detecting, and responding to epidemics and other disasters.
