This week’s Pandora Report includes discussion of the CIA’s updated stance on COVID-19 origins, how funding and hiring freezes are affecting the international development community, NIH’s purchasing abilities amid HHS’ communications freeze, RFK Jr.’s confirmation hearing, and more. This edition also includes an H5N1 update from the Pandora Report’s new Associate Editor, Meredith Fletcher.
CIA Announces It Favors COVID-19 Lab Leak Theory
Over the weekend, the CIA said in a statement that it now favors the idea that SARS-CoV-2 leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan. CIA joins FBI and DOE in drawing this conclusion. This analysis was ordered by the outgoing Biden administration. John Ratcliffe, Trump’s now confirmed nominee for CIA Director, promised in his first interview after confirmation that he “intends to immediately get to the bottom of what the Agency knows about COVID leaking from a Wuhan lab in China.” Ratcliffe has also ordered the assessment to be declassified and made public.
The assessment from CIA was made with low confidence, as was the earlier DOE assessment. A CIA spokesperson explained that “CIA assesses with low confidence that a research-related origin of the COVID-19 pandemic is more likely than a natural origin based on the available body of reporting.” This analysis does not draw on any new evidence or sources. Allegedly, the change was based on closer scrutiny of the conditions at high security labs in Wuhan.
While the Intelligence Community has not explicitly defined analytic confidence levels, “low confidence” generally suggests the assessment’s information is of questionable credibility or plausibility. In past assessments from the National Intelligence Council, low confidence has been defined as “generally means that the information’s credibility and/or plausibility is questionable, or that the information is too fragmented or poorly corroborated to make solid analytic inferences, or that we have significant concerns or problems with the sources.”
Sen. Paul Subpoenas 14 Agencies RE: COVID-19 Origins and GoF Research
Senator Rand Paul, chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, issued subpoenas on January 13 to 14 federal agencies “from the outgoing Biden-Harris administration in connection with the origins of COVID-19 and taxpayer-funded gain-of-function research.” Agencies subpoenaed include the National Institutes of Health, Department of State, United States Agency for International Development, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Health and Human Services, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Defense, Department of Justice, National Security Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Council, Department of Energy, Department of Agriculture, and Office of Science and Technology Policy.
In a statement, Senator Paul said “In the wake of Anthony Fauci’s preemptive pardon, there are still questions to be answered. Who at NIH directed funds to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and why was the proposal not scrutinized by the P3CO safety committee? For four years, I have requested records from the NIH and other agencies on all deliberations regarding the decision to skip oversight by the safety committee only to be stonewalled. Today, I’m announcing subpoenas were sent from the Committee to NIH and 13 other agencies regarding their involvement in risky gain-of-function research. The goal of the investigation will be to critique the process that allowed this dangerous research, that may have led to the pandemic, to occur in a foreign country under unsafe protocols and to ensure that there is sufficient oversight and review going forward, making sure a mistake of this magnitude never happens again.”
Trump Administration Updates
Stop Work Orders, Funding Freezes, and Chaos in the Federal Government Threaten Foreign Aid
An executive order signed by President Trump on his first day in office has thrown much of the federal government into chaos, especially those agencies involved with foreign aid. The order halts disbursements of foreign development aid for 90 days in order to allow the White House to assess whether these programs align with the President’s foreign policy. It was followed by an order from Secretary of State Marco Rubio for his department to cease not just development aid, but virtually all current foreign aid programs in general. The executive order explains in part, “The United States foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests and in many cases antithetical to American values.”
This echoes a growing anti-foreign aid sentiment much of the public holds, which has been fanned by President Trump in the last decade. For example, in 2019, Brookings explained that opinion polling consistently reports that many many Americans believe foreign aid accounts for around 25% of the US federal budget. Many of those, when asked, say they believe that number should be around 10%. In fact, foreign aid accounts for around 1% or less of the federal budget annually.
Make no mistake, that 1% does incredible things that make the US and the world safer and more stable. For example, the mission of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is “to partner to end extreme poverty and to promote resilient, democratic societies while advancing our security and prosperity.” USAID does this with its relatively small budget, not only by promoting American values abroad, but also by addressing conditions that spawn instability and violence and by strengthening economies globally. This agency strengthens the US by preventing the country from being drawn into conflicts by helping prevent them from developing, helps address threats to global health that can very easily threaten the homeland, and by creating more favorable global economic conditions.
Now, however, USAID and other agencies overseeing foreign aid have been thrown into chaos by the administration. In addition to mass confusion over the funding freeze and stop-work orders, hundreds of employees and contractors at USAID have been laid off or placed on administrative leave. Tens of thousands of people in the United States, many of whom are in the Washington, DC, area, rely on contract work with these agencies and are at risk of losing their jobs.
Part of this chaos includes a now waived pause on the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). PEPFAR was founded by President Bush in 2003 to help reduce the global burden of HIV/AIDS, and it currently has a $6.5 billion budget. It uses this budget to provide HIV/AIDS medications to more than 20.6 million people, not just keeping them alive, but helping prevent them from transmitting HIV to others. State Department estimates indicate the program has likely saved the lives of more than 25 million people in 54 countries since its inception.
The administration moved to stop program funding from reaching clinics, hospitals, and other organizations in low-income countries for 180 days. While the administration issued a waiver for this program on Tuesday, it came after appointments were already cancelled, people were turned away from clinics, and those undergoing HIV treatment had those treatments suddenly interrupted.
The stop-work order has also halted work to address current mpox and Marburg outbreaks. It has also had an impact on ongoing efforts to recover remaining CW stockpiles in Syria by degrading the capacity of the White Helmets to continue their work there. The list of affected programs drags on and on, including programs aimed at combatting the trafficking of fentanyl and narcotics, funding reporting on and combatting Russian and Chinese disinformation, and supporting those resisting oppressive regimes in places like Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Burma. Support that is critical to ensuring the defense of Taiwan has also been paused.
This is not “putting America first.” It is handing the United States’ adversaries, especially China, the opportunity to take the influence the US holds in the international community for themselves. Furthermore, to be clear, the $70 billion that is being held up by the administration is part of an annual budget that received Congressional approval and is the product of bipartisan negotiations. While administrations can and should review where the United States is spending its money, this is a dangerous move. Pausing work even just for 90 days ensures that people will be fired, trust and expertise will be lost, and some of these programs will not be able to recover from this.
Foreign aid is not just “handouts” to people in other countries. In addition to saving and improving the lives of people who benefit from foreign aid, it helps keep the United States safer, stronger, and more secure. Whatever comes of this pause, significant damage has been done both to the agencies affected and the people around the world the United States has turned its back on.
Further Reading:
- “Stop-Work Order on US Foreign Aid Puts China First and America Last,” Michael Schiffer, Just Security
- “How the World Is Reeling From Trump’s Aid Freeze,” Sui-Lee Wee, Declan Walsh and Farnaz Fassihi, The New York Times
- “Who is Protecting Americans from Marburg Right Now?” Stephanie Psaki, STAT News
NIH Cleared to Resume Some Purchasing for Research
Scientists at the NIH were told this week they will be allowed to continue working with some current vendors to purchase necessary supplies for their studies after a communication pause issued last week stopped their purchasing. According to a new memo, there are still exceptions on purchasing when vendors issue public documents on behalf of the agency. According to CNN, “Researchers who have clinical trial participants staying at the NIH’s on-campus hospital, the Clinical Trial Center, said last week they weren’t able to order test tubes to draw blood as well as other key study components. One researcher who was affected said his study would run out of key supplies by this week. If that happened, the research results would be compromised, and he would have to recruit new patients, he said.”
Peter Lurie, the President and Executive Director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said of the pause “It’s difficult to tell if what’s going on is rank incompetence or a willful attempt to throw sand in the gears, but it really could be either, neither reflects well on them.”
Further Reading:
- “Researchers are Terrified of Trump’s Freeze on Science. The Rest of Us Should Be, Too,” Celia Ford, Vox
RFK Jr. Senate Confirmation Hearing
In the days before RFK Jr.’s Senate confirmation hearing, several news articles were published discussing the nominee’s actions over the years and in the run-up to his hearing. One article from The Washington Post explained how he skipped a required transition meeting during which intended members of Trump’s cabinet hashed out their roles in the event of different crises, including a hypothetical avian influenza outbreak in humans. Kennedy, whose role in such a scenario would be pivotal, was two miles away, trying to sway skeptical senators to support his bid to lead HHS.
Furthermore, RFK Jr., who insists he is not anti-vaccine, but demands to see the “data” or “science” showing that vaccines are safe, dismissed such information when it was presented to him by a Republican senator. The senator, Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, reportedly told RFK Jr. that the science is clear that childhood vaccines are safe and not linked to autism. In response, Kennedy said he would recommend such vaccines if shown the data and that “not only will I do that but I will apologize for any statements that misled people otherwise.” When Cassidy pulled out and read aloud such information, Kennedy dismissed him.
Ahead of the hearing’s start, Caroline Kenney, cousin of RFK Jr. and former US Ambassador to Australia, issued a scathing letter urging lawmakers to vote against her cousin’s confirmation. In it, she discusses her cousin’s drug addiction, how he led family members “down the path of drug addiction,” and recent disclosures indicating how “his crusade against vaccination has benefited him in other ways.”
Her letter includes statements like “It’s no surprise that he keeps birds of prey as pets because he himself is a predator,” “Today, while he may encourage a younger generation to attend AA meetings, Bobby is addicted to attention and power. Bobby preys on the desperation of parents of sick children – vaccinating his own children while building a following by hypocritically discouraging other parents from vaccinating theirs,” and, of all those in the health care system, “They deserve a stable, moral, and ethical person at the helm of this crucial agency. They deserve better than Bobby Kennedy- and so do the rest of us. I urge the Senate to reject his nomination.”
Kerry Kennedy Meltzer, RFK Jr.’s niece and a physician, shared with STAT News a collection of private emails between her and her uncle. They show RFK Jr. making several false claims about COVID-19 vaccines at the height of the pandemic, citing articles by vaccine skeptics, tying childhood vaccinations to autism, and raising doubts about influenza vaccines.
In one email, RFK Jr. responds to his niece, who described to him some of what she had seen working in an ICU during the pandemic, “Kerry. I don’t dismiss your experience but it differs with data we are seeing from Israel, UK and other nations with much more reliable data systems. You might want to ask your hospital to publish this data so that people can take it seriously. That problem is that CDC has been using corrupt metrics to assess who is vaccinated. CDC counts all people as ‘unvaccinated’ until two weeks after their second shot. We have seen dramatically increased cases and mortalities in the two weeks following the first shot and CDC counts these as unvaccinated.”’
Now that the hearing has started, Kennedy has not fared better. In his first day of questioning, Kennedy seemed confused about the difference between Medicare and Medicaid, though he also said he would like to integrate the two programs. When pressed on this, he relented that he did not know how he would do so. He also struggled with questions on his changing stance on reproductive care access.
Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado brought up Kennedy’s assertion that “COVID-19 is targeted to attack Caucasian and Black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese.” Bennet also brought up his claim that that Lyme disease “is highly likely to have been a military weapon,” which he said on his podcast in January of last year. RFK Jr. responded “I probably did say that,” in reference to Lyme disease, though he claimed he had not made such statements about COVID-19. Later, he claimed he “never believed” that Lyme disease was created as a biological weapon. He also cited three books suggesting this theory, though he admitted he has not read them thoroughly.
Kennedy struggled to answer for other, even wilder claims, including that Wi-Fi and 5G cause cancer and that AIDS is a different disease in Africa than it is in the US. When questioned on these, RFK Jr. said he stands behind his claims about Wi-Fi and his description of AIDS. Kennedy was also confronted by Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia about a social media post he made during his presidential campaign, in which he said “My take on 9/11: It’s hard to tell what is a conspiracy theory and what isn’t. But conspiracy theories flourish when the government routinely lies to the public. As President I won’t take sides on 9/11 or any of the other debates. But I can promise is that I will open the files and usher in a new era of transparency.”
Senator Kaine asked Kennedy, “As a general matter, do you find it hard to tell what is a conspiracy theory and what isn’t? Is that kind of a general deficit that you find in your own analytical abilities?” In response, Kennedy said that his father taught him that “people in authority lie.”
The second day was not better for Kennedy. Not only has he refused to back off on his anti-vaccine statements, but he continued to spar with Senator Cassidy, refusing to answer the senator’s question on whether or not he would “reassure mothers, unequivocally and without qualification, that the measles and hepatitis B vaccines do not cause autism.”
Kennedy also struggled to answer questions from Maryland Senator Angela Alsobrooks, who asked RFK Jr. about his past statement that “We should not be giving black people the same vaccine schedule that’s given to whites because their immune system is better than ours.” When asked by the senator, a Black woman, what different vaccine schedule he believed she should have received, he answered, “A series of studies, I think most of them by Poland, show that to particular antigens, that Blacks have a much stronger reaction. There’s differences in reaction to different products by different races—”
He was cut off by Senator Alsobrooks, who used her remaining time to admonish Kennedy for what she calls a dangerous stance. It is unclear what studies Kennedy is referring to from Poland, though some research from the Mayo Clinic has studied differences in immune responses to vaccines by people of different races. This Mayo Clinic study has been cited by some media outlets discussing Kennedy’s statement. However, while this data did show that a non-Somali, African American cohort had higher antibody responses to rubella from the MMR vaccine in comparison to white people, it is unclear how Kennedy could draw such a conclusion from that study. As one of the authors on the study explained to NPR, suggesting this indicates Black people should have different vaccine schedules is “twisting the data far beyond what they actually demonstrate.”
Kennedy also faced questions about his past comments expressing skepticism about germ theory, comparing the CDC to “Nazi death camps,” and his refusal to answer a question from Senator Bernie Sanders about whether or not healthcare is a human right. This hearing has further demonstrated not just Kennedy’s lack of qualifications and experience, but also his apparent detachment from reality and inability to answer key questions concerning the role he seeks to take on.
Further Reading on Other Relevant Trump Nominees:
- “How a Contrarian MIT Professor Fueled Tulsi Gabbard’s Doubt About Syrian Gas Attacks,” Isaac Stanley-Becker, The Washington Post
- “Key Takeaways from Trump’s Energy Secretary Pick’s Confirmation Hearing,” Jennifer McDermott, AP
CDC Ordered to Stop Working with WHO, Removes Data Sets from Website
Staff at the CDC were ordered to cease engagements with the WHO immediately on Monday, despite an expected extended withdrawal. In an email to staff, the deputy director for global health wrote, “effective immediately all CDC staff engaging with WHO through technical working groups, coordinating centers, advisory boards, cooperative agreements or other means — in person or virtual — must cease their activity and await further guidance.”
The memo continued with “Please ensure your impacted staff receive this message. CDC detailees to WHO have been instructed to pause engaging in any work on behalf of WHO as part of their respective details, and to no longer go to WHO offices until further notice.”
The WHO currently has 71 collaborating centers based in the US, including 18 at CDC alone. One federal health official who spoke to The Washington Post indicated that one of the biggest effects CDC will feel from this will be in its global immunization division. This division typically has 20-30 staff assigned to WHO regional offices in several countries.
Reports are also emerging of CDC datasets now being unavailable on the agency’s website. This includes the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, which now returns a page error when accessed. STAT News explains in their reporting from today that this appears to be the result of agency efforts to remove “gender ideology” from their websites ahead of a deadline today.
In anticipation of the Trump administration, many organizations have issued warnings about the possibility of datasets becoming unavailable. This includes the Arizona Public Health Association, which said in a statement just two days ago, “If your work depends on federal public health data, now is the time to act. In the two weeks since President Trump took office, multiple federal websites have already removed key reports, datasets, and surveillance tools that public health practitioners and nonprofit organizations rely on. More and more data are being deleted from servers in several agencies daily – even hourly…If you use these resources, don’t assume they’ll still be there next week or that some archive website will have captured and preserved them — download and save them now before it’s too late.”
Further Reading:
- “What a US Exit From the WHO Means for Global Health,” Amy Maxmen, STAT News
- “Potential Ebola Outbreak Reported in DRC at a Time of Strained U.S.-WHO Relations,” Helen Branswell, STAT News
- “Overview of President Trump’s Executive Actions on Global Health,” Jennifer Kates, Josh Michaud, Kellie Moss, and Lindsey Dawson, KFF
- “President Trump Begins Changing U.S. Global Health Policy,” David P. Fidler, Think Global Health
Trump Ends Fauci’s Security Detail
President Trump has ended the federal security detail assigned to Anthony Fauci, the former NIAID head who advised the president during the United States’ COVID-19 pandemic response. This makes Fauci another former aid to the president who has had their federal protection ended despite ongoing threats to their lives. Others who have recently had their protection ended by this administration include Mike Pompeo, John Bolton, and Mark Milley. Trump told reporters in North Carolina last week that he would not feel any responsibility if Fauci were harmed. Fauci has reportedly hired private security.
Small Farms and H5N1
By Meredith Fletcher, Pandora Report Associate Editor
H5N1 or “bird flu” cases are on the rise in the United States, with over 147 million birds being reported infected. Apoorva Mandavilli from the New York Times stated that the response to this outbreak echoes the mistakes of the COVID-19 pandemic, and notes that officials need to start taking the bird flu seriously. In the case of Chris, who has a small flock of chickens in Colorado, many flock owners share his concerns of the implications of their family chickens. The USDA sponsors an initiative under the name “Defend the Flock” where they recommend monitoring for signs of the disease in personal chickens, limiting visitors, locking and covering feed and water, and avoiding wild birds. Symptoms include, lack of energy, swelling of eyes, twisting of the head/neck, stumbling and diarrhea. If these symptoms are spotted, call the USDA for lab testing and remove the bird from your flock.
There have currently been 67 reported human cases and one death. Despite these cases, the CDC currently reports the public health risk as low, but states they are monitoring the outbreak.
Ebola Outbreak Reported in DRC, Case Confirmed in Uganda
The DRC has reported 12 suspected cases of Ebola virus disease in Equateur province, which last suffered an Ebola outbreak in 2022. Furthermore, the WHO recently confirmed that 12 cases, eight of which were fatal, were recorded in the Boyenge health area. These deaths occurred between January 10 and 22. WHO officials said samples have been sent to the National Institute of Biomedical Research in Kinshasa.
Ugandan health officials confirmed yesterday a case of Ebola in the country’s capital city of Kampala. The patient was a nurse who sought care at multiple facilities before it was determined he had Ebola. This marks the country’s seventh Ebola outbreak. The nurse died on Wednesday at the Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala, the facility he worked in. Nobody else in the facility has shown signs of Ebola yet, according to the Ugandan health ministry.
“How a WHO Staff Member Turned the US Withdrawal into an Act of Solidarity”
This post by Sandra Sorial, Director of Campaigns and Supporter Engagement, WHO Foundation, explains how Tania Cernuschi, a WHO employee, launched a fundraising campaign for WHO in response to the United States’ withdrawal from the organization. Sorial writes in part, “Wow. As someone whose job it is to raise funding for the World Health Organization, the announcement this week that the US would withdraw its membership and funding was a major blow. Yet, out of really difficult circumstances can come solidarity and opportunity. My personal belief has always been that in a time of crisis, we see the best in humanity and the best in us.”
“Yesterday, a WHO staff member approached me saying that she would like to start her own appeal to attract support and funding. I was excited and at the same time, cautious of such an ambitious target. Then I thought to myself, the best ideas come from the people who want to make things happen because they care. Tania Cernuschi, who has worked at WHO for ten years wants to raise US $1 billion by 1 billion people giving a dollar. Just one. More is always welcome!”
“2025 Doomsday Clock Statement”
This statement from The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists provides background and justification for moving the Doomsday Clock to 89 seconds this year. It explains in part, “In 2024, humanity edged ever closer to catastrophe. Trends that have deeply concerned the Science and Security Board continued, and despite unmistakable signs of danger, national leaders and their societies have failed to do what is needed to change course. Consequently, we now move the Doomsday Clock from 90 seconds to 89 seconds to midnight—the closest it has ever been to catastrophe. Our fervent hope is that leaders will recognize the world’s existential predicament and take bold action to reduce the threats posed by nuclear weapons, climate change, and the potential misuse of biological science and a variety of emerging technologies.”
“Trust, but Verify: A ‘Just Culture’ Model for for Oversight of Potentially High-Risk Life Sciences Research”
In this article in Applied Biosafety, authors from the Biosecurity and Pandemic Policy Center at Texas A&M University and colleagues propose a new approach to overseeing potentially high-risk pathogen research: “A ‘just culture’ balances accountability for misconduct with transparency, collaboration, and proactive engagement to address the root causes of accidents and compliance issues. Fostering a just culture in the oversight of potentially high-risk life sciences research would allow the U.S. government to improve biosafety and biosecurity while promoting beneficial research.” Drawing on examples from the aviation industry and Canadian biosafety regulations, the article goes on to argue for embedding five elements of a “just culture” approach in U.S. government policy.
“The Quest for Universal Flu Vaccines”
Ryan Duncombe and Jasmin Kaur go through the history of influenza vaccine development and its future in this Long Read piece from Asimov Press: “Modern flu vaccines have an average efficacy of just 40 percent, and they must be revamped each year. How can we make vaccines that are “universal” — both broadly-protective and highly potent?”
“Patient Zero: How One Doctor Helped Uncover the Origin of the DRC’s Mpox Outbreak”
Sarah Newey discusses how Leandre Murhula Masirika was able to track down the origin of the DRC’s mpox outbreak using a WhatsApp message sent to him by another physician. The resulting epidemiological investigation demonstrated to Murhula Masirika that something abnormal was unfolding. Newey explains, “This raised alarm bells, as it didn’t fit with descriptions of clade 1. This strain of mpox has been endemic in the DRC since it was first discovered in a child in 1970. Generally, small transmission chains were sparked after the virus jumped from animals to people, but in recent years the pathogen had exploded in the western and central provinces…Yet clade 1 hits children hardest, with lesions mostly on their feet, hands and faces. That’s not what Dr Murhula Masirika and his colleagues were seeing in Kamituga.”
“Statement in Support of The Elders’ Policy Position Paper on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response”
This statement from The RH Helen Clark and HE Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the Co-Chairs of The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response expresses support for The Elders’ new Policy Position Paper on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response. They write in part, “We are proud to be members of The Elders, who collectively have tackled, analysed and fostered diplomacy to strengthen pandemic preparedness and response for more than two decades. We fully support The Elders’ call for urgent focus on the need for leadership and collaboration to stop the next pandemic threat becoming a pandemic.”
“Roots of Resilience: Building Peace in an Era of Food and Climate Shocks”
Siena Cicarelli, Luca Cinciripini, Lukas Eichelter, Philip Novakovic-Wilke, and Lena von Zabern recently published this report with CRS: “In the context of the 2025 Munich Security Conference (MSC), it is critical that leaders, understandably consumed with state-centric geopolitical disruptions, pay close attention to transnational and systemic risks—one of the most significant of which is the food-climate-conflict nexus. This backgrounder unpacks the nexus and its associated risks while presenting near-term solutions, that range from the promotion of sustainable agri-food systems to empowering climate champions in defense institutions.”
“The Continuing Tragedy of Ghouta’s Chemical Attacks”
Nicole Di Ilio discusses how the 2013 CW attacks in Ghouta still affects the survivors, writing in part “Over a decade later, the terror of that night — ambulance sirens wailing, people screaming in agony and anguish, and the sound of babies crying in the still air — is still fresh in the city’s collective memory. “I can’t forget the gasps of the people rasping with distressed breaths, the foam coming out of their mouths, the terrified look in their eyes,” Khalife told me, sitting on a pile of rubble that had once been his neighbors’ house, where one destroyed building is still sliced in half from top to bottom, its empty walls and a small visible kitchen giving the space a strange verticality. “That night, even the narrow streets were packed with bodies. It was impossible not to step over the dead. It felt like the start of the apocalypse.”’
“Syria’s Chemical Weapons After Assad: A CAS Conversation”
This article includes an interview with American University Professor of Chemistry Stefano Costanzi regarding the history of CW in Syria, and what comes now after the fall of the Assad regime.
“International AI Safety Report”
This document from the UK Government is “A report on the state of advanced AI capabilities and risks – written by 100 AI experts including representatives nominated by 33 countries and intergovernmental organisations.” It includes a section on biological and chemical attacks in its portion focused on risks from malicious use of AI.
NEW: Biopower: Securing American Leadership in Biotechnology
“Biopower—a nation’s capacity to harness emerging biotechnologies to enhance national and economic security—is a growing if underappreciated force in geopolitics. Accelerating breakthroughs in biotechnologies could unlock potentially transformative applications in defense, energy, health, and manufacturing, bestowing considerable security and economic benefits.”
“Join the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) on Thursday, February 6, at 12 p.m. ET for a virtual event to highlight the stakes, challenges, and opportunities for securing U.S. biotechnology leadership as we transition to new leadership in the White House and Congress.”
“The event will feature keynote remarks from Senator Todd Young (R-IN), chair of the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology, followed by an expert panel with Doug Friedman, CEO of BioMADE, Jessica Dymond, vice president of technology at In-Q-Tel, and Vivek Chilukuri, senior fellow and director of the Technology and National Security Program at CNAS. The conversation will be moderated by Alison Snyder, managing editor at Axios.”
Register here.
NEW: Gaming Weapons of Mass Destruction Course – From Policy to Practice
From MORS: “Gaming Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD – defined as Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological agents) will be a three-day course focused on developing and executing games related to WMD in all its forms. While the basics of WMD capabilities and game design will be discussed, this will be a course focused on the intersection of WMD and gaming. It will not be either a WMD or gaming course; for those topics see other offerings.”
“No prior experience is required for this course, though a basic familiarity with various agents and their effects would be helpful, as would a basic understanding of professional gaming and how it is used. The instructors will adapt in real time to class requirements (e.g., if the class is interested in animal and plant targets, the instructors have extensive experience in designing games on those subjects as well).”
This course will take place March 18-20 on Zoom. Learn more and register here.
Schar School Open House
The Schar School of Policy and Government will be hosting an in-person Arlington Graduate Open House along with the Costello College of Business, Antonin Scalia Law School, and the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution. Explore the different degree programs we offer at the master’s, doctoral, and professional levels, as well as our graduate-level certificates. Representatives will be in attendance to discuss our various graduate programs and how you can further your studies while continuing to work. Gregory Koblentz, Director of the Biodefense Graduate Program, will also be in attendance.
This event will take place on February 4 between 5:30 and 7 pm EST. Register here.
Biodefense MS Information Session
“Prospective students are invited to attend a information session to hear more about the Biodefense M.S. program offered at the Schar School. The online session will provide an overview of the program, as well as the application process, student experience and graduate outcomes. This session admissions will be led by the Graduate Admissions team.”
This sessions will take place at 12 pm EST on February 13. Learn more and register here.
Cyberbiosecurity Summit
From Johns Hopkins APL and Bio-ISAC: “Advancements in biomanufacturing and biotechnology drive the science we need to thrive, everything from apples to vaccines. The Cyberbiosecurity Summit 2025 convenes leading experts in biotechnology, biosecurity, and cybersecurity to explore the intersection of these fields and discuss the strategies to create a safe, secure future for us all.”
This event will take place February 25-26 in Laurel, MD. Register here and review the call for sessions here (closes 12/12).
Sustainable Manufacturing: Building and Preserving a Resilient Medical Industrial Base
“Join industry and government partners for our second annual industry summit! During this event, leaders from IBMSC will share our strategic vision and organizational priorities. Speakers will also share potential opportunities for building and preserving the medical industrial base. This event will be in-person only and space is limited!”
This event will take place March 11-12 in Washington, DC. Learn more and register here.
Enhancing UK Biosecurity: DASA Launches Microbial Forensics Competition
“On behalf of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory(Dstl), the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) is pleased to launch a new Themed Competition called Future-proofing Biosecurity by Strengthening the UK’s Microbial Forensic Capability. The competition is being run in response to the 2023 UK Biological Security Strategy which aims to implement a UK-wide approach to biosecurity that will strengthen deterrence and resilience to a spectrum of biological threats.”
“Dstl is leading the creation of the United Kingdom Microbial Forensics Consortium (UKMFC) which is being developed in support of the Detect Pillar of the Biological Security Strategy. It will comprise a network of biosurveillance laboratories from all four nations of the UK, operating under a One Health doctrine. This competition seeks novel technology options or technical approaches that can directly support the UKMFC initiative.”
Learn more and submit proposals here.
The Pandora Report 