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Seattle biotech start-ups have difficult time raising VC funds
The greater Seattle area may have been the birth place of several dot.coms — Microsoft comes to mind — but present-day biotech start-ups say they find raising funds from VCs exceedingly difficult
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Critics see problems in EU plan to shift to biofuels
The EU plans to require that a growing percentage of European cars shift to biofuels to ease pressure on the environment; critics charge plan may harm farmers in developing countries
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BioFactura develops diagnostic kit for viral hemorrhagic fever infections
BioFactura and its partners conduct clinical tests in West Africa of test kits for viral hemorrhagic fever diagnosis; kits will be useful diagnostic tools in the event of bioterror attacks — but also for viral hemorrhagic fever infections common in Africa
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Mail-order bioterror nears
The risks of bioterrorism are real, and mail-order bioterror is around the corner; yes, the authorities need to keep a close eye on biotechnology research, but “a robust biotech research sector that is not hobbled by excessive regulation is our best defense against bioterrorism”
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China says food safety progressing
Criticized for lax safety standards and lack of enforcement, China’s agricultural authorities intensify campaign to monitor food safety; a system of barcodes to track catfish implemented
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U.S. drug makers buy ingredients from unregulated Chinese companies
Chinese drug companies are supervised — whatever that means in China — by China’s regulators; there are 80,000 chemical companies in China, but they do not come under the jurisdiction of China’s drug regulators; trouble is, these unregulated, uncertified companies sell ingredients of uncertain quality to U.S. drug makers
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U.S. faces water shortage crisis
Government projects at least 36 states will face shortages within five years; “The last century was the century of water engineering. The next century is going to have to be the century of water efficiency,” one experts says
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The public health lessons of 9/11, anthrax letters
A new book examines the responses by different government authorities to the public health aspects of 9/11 and anthrax letters; conclusion: In a crisis the available public health infrastructure makes all the difference in the quality of the local and federal response
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Troops, key health workers to be first to receive U.S. bird flu shots
Government unveils plan which creates four categories of people to be vaccinated in case of pandemic outbreak; the top tier of each category will be vaccinated first
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Palm Beach County prepares for bioterror attack
New foot soldiers in the war against bioterror attack in a Florida county: Country clubs and condo board presidents, who will help distribute antibiotics to the county’s 1.3 million people in 48 hours
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New alliance aims to offer pathogen-free food
VeriPrime alliance — it is an alliance of livestock and poultry producers, packing companies, and retail and food service vendors — says it can market meat that is 99.9999998% free of deadly pathogens
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$20 million contract to develop inhaled therapy for plague, tularemia
Florida-based Nanotherapeutics to develop gentamicin, an injectable broad-spectrum antibiotic used for pneumonic plague and tularemia; U.S. wants an inhaled version for easier application in the aftermath of bioterror attack
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Miniscule solar cells would enable ultramicroscopic technology
Harvard team develops solar cells 200 hundred times thinner than a human hair; source of power for ultramicroscopic technology now available; team leaders says one of the first application would be in monitoring bioterrorism
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Food importers to guarantee their imports meet safety, health standards
A proposal for screening imported foods would require American companies to certify that their foreign suppliers meet U.S. standards and would reward suppliers who undertake quality-monitoring programs
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U.S. government to intensify fight against industrial espionage
U.S. government launches a broad campaign to thwart foreign government and terrorist organizations from stealing sensitive U.S. technology; chief culprits: China, Iran
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