Category: News

Highlights include Syria’s Chemical Weapons (will they won’t they?), Ebola for breakfast, stronger regulations for H5N1 research (blame the ferrets), first responders and zombies, the bacteria are planning our overthrow, and more Syria (hey at least it’s not Ebola). Happy Friday!

Why Assad Won’t Use His Chemical Weapons (and why you should still be worried)

FAS Fellow and GMU Adjunct Faculty Charles Blair (he’s brilliant) has an excellent piece in Foreign Policy on Syria’s  chemical weapons. Check it out below!

“Since the Syrian uprising began in March 2011, concerns over the country’s chemical arsenal have largely reflected the fear that terrorists might steal them in the chaotic aftermath of Bashar al Assad’s overthrow. Military use against the Free Syrian Army seemed less likely, largely because the use of unconventional weapons would violate international law and norms. If it broke that taboo, the regime would risk losing Russian and Chinese support, legitimizing foreign military intervention, and, ultimately, hastening its own end. As one Syrian official said, ‘We would not commit suicide.'”

Health Concerns Raised as Ugandans Add Primates to the Menu

Today’s holiday special is two sausages with eggs Benedict and Ebola.  All meals come with complimentary cup of coffee (no refills).

Voice of America – “Uganda’s recent flood of Congolese refugees is having unexpected side-effects: some Ugandans are adopting the Congolese custom of eating primates, a new trend that may be linked to outbreaks of Ebola and represents a potential threat to the country’s endangered chimpanzee population. According to sanctuary director Lily Ajarova, while primate consumption is not unusual in Africa, Uganda has no history of the practice. Although her team has yet to find Ugandans eating chimpanzees in particular, they fear that Ugandans who are known eat various primates may soon go the way of their chimp-eating neighbors to the west.”

Proposed H5N1 Research Reviews Raise Concerns (Paywall)

Should experiments which may result in the generation of potentially dangerous information be published? Should they be conducted at all? As a biodefense student, I tend to say yes, absolutely – exercise caution, but stringent secrecy seems to do more harm than good. It’s a slippery slope.

Science – “Researchers are giving a mixed reception to a draft U.S. government plan to do more stringent funding reviews of certain kinds of H5N1 avian influenza research—and perhaps even require some studies to be kept secret. The proposal, presented last week at a meeting of the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity, is the latest fallout from the controversy surrounding two studies in which scientists engineered the H5N1 virus and led to a voluntary moratorium on such potentially risky “gain-of-function” studies. The new proposal seeks to help biosecurity experts for funding agencies identify problematic experiments before they begin.”

First responders drill response to a “Night of the Walking Dead” scenario

Looks like DHS is finally wising and preparing for something of which we’re all actually afraid. All I’m saying is, CDC has been on this for years.  

Homeland Security Newswire – “DHS funds were approved to pay the $1,000 fee for a week-long conference at Paradise Point Resort and Spa in San Diego; the marquee event of the summit was its highly-promoted ;zombie apocalypse’ demonstration; Strategic Operations, a tactical training firm, was hired to put on a ‘zombie-driven show’ designed to simulate a real-life terrorism event; the firm performed two shows on Halloween, which featured forty actors dressed as zombies getting gunned down by a military tactical unit”

Did Bacteria Fuel World’s Worst Extinction?

For all the germaphobes out there, we give you reason to be afraid of the little suckers. And of all the inglorious ways to wipe out a planet – methane gas, I ask you.

LiveScience – “Nickel-eating bacteria may have worsened the world’s worst mass die-off by producing huge amounts of methane, a new study suggests. The study is the latest attempt to explain how most of the world’s ocean species died off in just a few hundred thousand years at the end of the Permian era, about 250 million years ago. The researchers presented their findings Tuesday (Dec. 4) here at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union.

Red Cross in touch with Syrian government on biological, chemical arms

(The Syrian situation from the NGO perespective) You know things are dire when the Red Cross starts making contingency plans. Has anyone else started uneasily refreshing their knowledge on the rumored extent of Syria’s BW cache?

Reuters – “The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been in touch with the Syrian government about both biological and chemical weapons whose use is illegal under international humanitarian law, its president said on Thursday. The humanitarian agency is making “contingency planning” in the event that any chemical weapons are used, especially to protect its nearly 100 aid workers deployed in Syria, but remains focused on the wider needs of the civilian population.”

Highlights include bacteria eating your cell’s weapons, using DNA sequencing to stop superbugs dead, CRE: scary and surprisingly prevalent, Yersinia enterocolitica trying to make a name for itself, and the WHO changing the way it reports H5N1. Happy Friday!

Bacteria hijack host cell process, create their own food supply to become infectious

Bacteria that turn your cells weapons into food. Now, if there’s one thing I’ve learned as a biodefense student, it’s that bacteria are very good at turning a surprising variety of things into food.

Phys.org – “Bacteria that cause the tick-borne disease anaplasmosis in humans create their own food supply by hijacking a process in host cells that normally should help kill the pathogenic bugs, scientists have found. This bacterium, Anaplasma phagocytophilum (Ap), secretes a protein that can start this process. The protein binds with another protein produced by white blood cells, and that connection creates compartments that siphon host-cell nutrients to feed the bacteria, enabling their growth inside the white blood cells”

Real-Time Genetics Could Squash “Superbug” Outbreaks before They Spread

This iteration of the Science article was included due to their use of the words “squash” and “dastardly”.

Scientific American – “Genetic sequences of drug-resistant bacteria have helped scientists better understand how these dastardly infections evolve—and elude treatment. But these superbugs are still claiming lives of many who acquire them in hospitals, clinics and nursing homes. And recent outbreaks of these hard-to-treat infections can spread easily in healthcare settings. Researchers might soon be able to track outbreaks in real time, thanks to advances in sequencing technology. So say Mark Walker and Scott Beaston, both of the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences and Australian Infectious Disease Research Center at the University of Queensland in Australia, in an essay published online November 29 in Science. ‘Genomic sequencing can provide information that gives facilities a head start in implementing preventive measures,’ they wrote.”

Deadly Bacteria that Defy Drugs of Last Resort

CRE is apparently present in 42 states, and has a case fatality of close to 40 percent (due to its extremely strong capacity for AB resistance.

USA Today – “A new family of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, known as CRE, is raising concerns across the medical community because of its ability to cause infections that defy even the strongest antibiotics. The antibiotic resistance is spread by mobile pieces of DNA that can move between different species of bacteria, creating new, drug-defying bugs.”

Resistant Bacteria in Pork — And Problematic Pharmaceuticals Too

Yersinia enterocolitica, apparently tired of living in the shadow of its flashy cousin, Yersinia pestis is apparently taking revenge by lodging itself in approximately 69% of  pork chops and ground pork. We understand the whole family rivalry, entero, but leave the pork chops alone, eh?

Wired – “Bad news today from an investigation conducted by Consumers Union that was released on the web and will be published in the January issue of the nonprofit’s magazine, Consumer Reports. Tests on pork chops and ground pork, bought in six cities under a variety of labels, showed high rates of contamination with a range of bacteria, many of which were antibiotic-resistant — and also showed evidence of a drug so controversial that it is banned in some other countries…”

WHO alters H5N1 reporting

Like so many of us who spend a lot of time online, the WHO is apparently fed up with having to constantly update it’s webpage:

Vaccine News – “The World Health Organization recently announced that it will begin reporting human cases of H5N1 avian influenza every month on its influenza webpage. The WHO said that cases of human infection with H5N1 will now only be reported on its Disease Outbreak News webpage when they are unusual or represent an increased risk for extended infections. WHO Member States will still be required to inform the organization of every sporadic incidence of human infection by H5N1 and novel virus infection as rMaking a Flu Vaccine Without the Virusequired by WHO’s international health regulations.

In case you missed it:

– Galapagos tests new antibiotics for resistant bacteria

– Making a Flu Vaccine Without the Virus

Name change time! We got tired of being confused with weed-killer, and besides, the Pandora Report has a certain snazz to it, don’t you think? If you hate it let us know, and we’ll brainstorm anew. Hope your respective Thanksgivings’ were appropriately filling! To the news:

Highlights include virus hunting in Cameroon, Mycoplasma zombies (for real), bacterial altruism, bacteria chatting about battle plans, Scottish honey as a potential MRSA treatment, and Ebola (of course).

What if a Deadly New Virus Jumped from Animals to Humans?

Not a lot here that you probably don’t already know, but it’s always a good idea to know how the media covers emergent diseases (if only so that you’re not completely flummoxed when someone asks about efficacy of bush meat hunters acting as viral sentinels). Also, I nominate “virus huntering” as an official choice for our degree concentration.

TIME – “In a rapidly interconnected world, the dangers and threats posed by virulent strains of terrifying infectious diseases has only multiplied. On the watch for deadly pandemics is Nathan Wolfe, acclaimed virus hunter and member of the 2011 class of the TIME 100. Wolfe spoke to the World Economic Forum, in collaboration with TIME, about future pandemics on the horizon.”

Mycoplasma “Ghosts” Can Rise From the Dead

For those of you too lazy to Google, Mycoplasma are interesting because they lack a cell wall (making them harder to kill)(antibiotics often target cell walls, as an easy way to distinguish between invading and host cells [human cells don’t have cell walls]).

The Artful Amoeba (Scientific American) – “As the titles of journal articles go, it’s hard to find one more elegant, enticing and — notably, if you’ve been in the business long — succinct than ‘Gliding Ghosts of Mycoplasma mobile’. But the substance of “Gliding Ghosts” is even better than the promise. That’s because the cellular propulsion system of Mycoplasma mobile does something extraordinary: with the addition of ATP, M. mobile‘s gutted and very much dead remains can get up and move as if they were alive.”

Engineered Bacteria Can Make the Ultimate Sacrifice for the Good of the Population

A little bacterial altruism, just in time for the holidays.

Science Daily– “Scientists have engineered bacteria that are capable of sacrificing themselves for the good of the bacterial population. These altruistically inclined bacteria, which are described online in the journal Molecular Systems Biology, can be used to demonstrate the conditions where programmed cell death becomes a distinct advantage for the survival of the bacterial population.”

Microbiology: Eavesdropping on bacterial conversations

Quorum sensing strikes again – helping bacteria coordinate their battle strategies to maximize making you sick.

Nanowerk News– “For decades, microbiologists thought that bacteria act individually, unaware of their multitudinous counterparts involved in causing the same infection. In the past two decades, however, they have discovered that many species of bacteria ‘communicate’. In fact, bacteria can signal to each other that their numbers are sufficient to launch a coordinated attack. Now, by working with Burkholderia cenocepacia, an opportunistic pathogen that infects cystic fibrosis patients, a research team led by Lian-Hui Zhang from the A*STAR Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) has described a previously unknown quorum-sensing system that is present in many human bacterial pathogens… ”

Sweet Medicine: Using Honey to Treat MRSA?

Those Scots. Now if only this treatment extended to other Scottish products ending in “y” [or “tch”], we would really be onto something.

The Scotsman – “Honey produced by thousands of Portobello bees may be used in the fight against killer superbugs like MRSA. Research from Queen Margaret University [Scotland] has shown that honey from the seaside is effective at killing common strains of bacteria which cause wound infections. The pilot research study – which got under way at the end of last year – found the locally produced honey was as effective at combating bugs as manuka honey from New Zealand. Funding is now being sought by the university to establish if it can fight antibiotic resistant bugs like MRSA.”

Uganda: Ebola – Why Uganda Is So Prone

Deforestation and encroachment of humans into wildlife habitats are both described as possible exacerbating factors of the Luweero Ebola outbreak.

All Africa – “In four months, the deadly viral haemorrhagic fevers have hit Uganda three times, killing at least 29 people in Uganda. An ongoing outbreak of a different strain of Ebola, following previous attacks of Ebola and Marburg, raises the question why we are becoming so vulnerable to these viral attacks. First to be hit, in July, was the western district of Kibaale, where Ebola claimed 17 lives including 12 from the same family.”

This has been around for a while now, but for those of you who haven’t seen it:

“Cops outraged after NYU class requires students to plot a terrorist attack” (NYP) – the article details NYU professor (and decorated  Navy veteran) Marie-Helen Maras, and her requirement that students produce a 10-15 page paper “hypothetically [planning] a terrorist attack”.

The course has been criticized in both the media ( Fox News, the Daily Mail) and anonymous sources within the NYPD – “When told of the term paper, one ranking police officer who lost coworkers on 9/11 called it ‘the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.’… ‘I’m disgusted,’ said the source. ‘What is this, we have our students do the work for the terrorists?’”

I’m just going to come right out and say it – this is completely absurd. It’s absurd on multiple levels. First, it’s not as if Maras’ exercise is unprecedented. It’s a standard Red Team/Blue Team exercise – in which one simulates an attack on one’s self – which have been used by everyone from the military to the intelligence and government agencies to think tanks (check out the RAND Corp chem/bio Red Team exercise) for decades. The benefits of this type of exercise are evident and unique – as the Central Intelligence Agency Tradecraft Primer states, “…Red Team analysis is aimed at freeing the analyst from the prison of a well-developed mind-set… [it] transforms the analyst into an ‘actor’ operating within the adversary’s culture and political milieu. This form of ‘role playing’ is useful when trying to replicate the mind-set of authoritarian leaders, terrorist cells, or other nonWestern groups that operate under very different codes of behavior or motivations.” In order to understand how our enemies will attack us, we first need to understand our enemy.

Like most security studies programs, the GMU Biodefense curriculum includes similar exercises – we pick a target, choose a biological agent, and plan an attack. When asked about the exercises, Dr. Trevor Thrall, Director of the GMU Biodefense program, clarified, “Though I can certainly understand how people may feel sensitive about discussing terrorist strategies in public venues, it is ridiculous to imagine that such exercises somehow create terrorists or provide training that would-be terrorist could not get in other ways.”

“What these exercises in fact do is provide emerging counter-terrorism professionals an opportunity to hone their thinking about the threats posted by terrorist organizations. The more time we spend figuring out how and why terrorism works, the better we will do at preventing and responding to terrorism. As a result we would never ask our faculty to shy away from red team/blue team exercises and the like,” he said.

As students, yes, we were pretty sure that our Google searches were being red-flagged in a dark room somewhere (as well they should have been), and yes, there were even moments of surprisingly visceral unease (again, as well there should have been). However, completing the assignment was one of the most illuminative and useful exercises of my education to date. Echoing Dr. Thrall’s comments, Tom Kreitzer, a Biodefense MS student and federal emergency response official, said, “Red teaming exercises are incredibly important for those already in, or attempting to join, the emergency response or intelligence fields.”

The exercises taught us that there are certain things you simply cannot know – cannot even realize you don’t know – until you actually try to do them. Planning the terrorist attack helped us not only to discover the hurdles bioterrorists face – and there are many – but it  also helped us illuminate potential US weaknesses. Identifying these weaknesses enables us to correct them before they can be exploited. If they can’t be corrected, it enables us to develop strategies, allocate resources, increase security, and plan.

One of the most serious and in some ways sad admonitions of the 9/11 Commission Report was that of the “lack of imagination” on our part. If we could have imagined worse, expected worse, thought humanity capable of worse, we maybe would have been better prepared. This is what makes the condemnation of Professor’s Maras’ assignment so troubling. By penalizing those attempting to teach the value of imaginative thinking, we risk trapping ourselves again in the status quo – a mistake we cannot afford to make again.