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On Behalf of the Open Philanthropy Project
     
Call for Biosecurity and Pandemic Preparedness Pre-proposals

 

The Open Philanthropy Project invites pre-proposals for risk assessment in the biosecurity and pandemic preparedness field. We believe infectious disease pandemics represent one of the biggest current risks to global welfare and stability, and the risks from engineered pandemics may grow in the future. We think more rigorous and comprehensive risk assessment tools will help the U.S. and other countries prevent and respond to the most serious biological threats facing the world. Full program details are available at http://openphil-rfp.org. 

Today's Headlines: March 22, 2017

Biological Agents & Infectious Diseases

Rio de Janeiro State Reports Yellow Fever, Ecuador Confirms 1st Case in 5 Years ( Outbreak News Today) Last week, the state of Rio de Janeiro reported its two first confirmed autochthonous yellow fever cases in the municipality of Casimiro de Abreu, located 135 km from the city of Rio de Janeiro. Go to article

Migrants at Risk of Drug-resistant TB in Europe ( Daily Star) In the late 19th century, an estimated one in seven Europeans was dying of tuberculosis, then known as "consumption" for its slow, remorseless wasting of the human body. Now, after decades of low TB rates thanks to antibiotics and strong public health systems, the continent is threatened by a new and different form of the lung disease -- one which cannot easily be cured with existing drugs. Go to article


Government Affairs & National Security

Democrats Warn GOP: Health Care Bill Would Be Disaster for Battle Against Opioids ( STAT) Senate Democrats are warning Republican leadership that the health care bill moving through Congress would have disastrous consequences for the nation's opioid epidemic, again putting the issue at the center of the debate on Capitol Hill. Go to article

Why Trump's NIH Cuts Should Worry Us ( New York Times) Last week I was in London to participate in a scientific symposium. During coffee breaks, many British colleagues asked me and other American visitors to explain the bewildering news that President Trump had announced his intention to cut the budget for the National Institutes of Health by 18.3 percent, about $5.8 billion. Go to article


Global Health Security

Facing Significant Yellow Fever Outbreak, Brazil Appeals for More Vaccine ( STAT) Brazil, in the grips of an unusually large yellow fever outbreak, has asked for millions of doses of vaccine from an international emergency stockpile. Go to article

Fifteen Ambulances Airlifted into Iraq to Serve Trauma Needs in Mosul ( WHO) The WHO with logistic support from the World Food Programme, airlifted 15 fully equipped ambulances to Iraq in order to strengthen the response to the increasing trauma and medical related emergencies in west Mosul. These ambulances will enhance trauma care at the frontlines and ensure timely referral to field hospitals. Go to article

UN Accepts Blame but Dodges the Bill in Haiti ( New York Times) Today's lesson in evading moral responsibility comes to us from the UN. The organization says it is terribly concerned about the cholera epidemic in Haiti and wishes to eliminate it. But it has not figured out when and how this is going to happen, and with what money. Go to article


Medicine & Public Health

A Comparison Study of Zika Virus Outbreaks in French Polynesia, Colombia and the State of Bahia in Brazil ( Scientific Reports) Zika virus disease outbreaks occurred in French Polynesia in 2013-2014 and in Brazil and Colombia in 2015-2016, respectively. Using our recently developed ZIKV disease model, we simulated the reported ZIKV infection cases from French Polynesia, Colombia and the State of Bahia of Brazil. Go to article

Evaluating Novel Diagnostics in an Outbreak Setting: Lessons Learned from Ebola ( Journal of Clinical Microbiology) Inadequate access to rapid testing for Ebola virus disease during the 2014-16 outbreak led to an explosion in the development of diagnostics that could be performed at or near the point-of-care and by less experienced operators, leading in turn to an acute need for novel test evaluation. Here, we present the challenges to novel diagnostic development and evaluation in an emergency setting, and suggestions for potential new "global emergency standards" to address them. Go to article

The Zika Virus Threat--How Concerns About Scientists May Undermine Efforts to Combat the Pandemic ( University of New Hampshire - Carsey School of Public Policy) News stories highlighting locally transmitted cases of Zika in Florida, and most recently in Texas, created a sense of urgency among public health officials. They stepped up efforts to inform the public about the transmission of the virus as well as the health risks associated with Zika. Go to article


Science & Technology

An NS-segment Exonic Splicing Enhancer Regulates Influenza A Virus Replication in Mammalian Cells ( Nature Communications) Influenza virus utilizes host splicing machinery to process viral mRNAs expressed from both M and NS segments. Through genetic analysis and functional characterization, we here show that the NS segment of H7N9 virus contains a unique G540A substitution, located within a previously undefined exonic splicing enhancer motif present in the NEP mRNA of influenza A viruses. Go to article

Determined Parents are Moving the Needle on Gene Therapy ( MIT Technology Review) Families of patients are starting advocacy groups, raising money for research, and founding biotech companies to advance cures for rare diseases. Go to article

Genome Engineering and Modification Toward Synthetic Biology for the Production of Antibiotics ( Medicinal Research Reviews) Antibiotic production is often governed by large gene clusters composed of genes related to antibiotic scaffold synthesis, tailoring, regulation, and resistance. With the expansion of genome sequencing, a considerable number of antibiotic gene clusters has been isolated and characterized. The emerging genome engineering techniques make it possible towards more efficient engineering of antibiotics. Go to article

Interferon Drug Shows Promise in Treating Ebola ( Science Daily) A pilot study of a class of drugs used to treat hepatitis and some forms of multiple sclerosis has been shown for the first time to ease symptoms of Ebola patients, while also increasing their survival. Go to article

How Can a Legally Binding Agreement on Human Cloning Be Established? ( Phys.org) Since Dolly the Sheep was cloned in 1996, the question of whether human reproductive cloning should be banned or pursued has been the subject of international debate. In an attempt to address the issue, the UN formulated a Declaration on Human Cloning in 2005, but this was ambiguously worded and received ambivalent support from UN member states. Go to article

Safety First with Gene Editing ( Chemistry World: Registration Required) The field of genome editing is experiencing explosive growth, facilitated primarily by the Crispr-Cas9 tool. Genome editors are quickly becoming indispensable, achieving a wide range of beneficial results with medical and industrial applications. However, these developments are outpacing related advances in biosafety and biosecurity that could help ensure these tools are used responsibly. Go to article


Other 21st Century Threats

More Extreme Weather Coming After Record 2016 Heat, WMO Says ( Bloomberg) Unusually warm weather in the Arctic is helping shift weather patterns this year from North America to the Middle East, after global warming shattered records in 2016, according to the World Meteorological Organization. Go to article

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