Analysis - Biosecurity

Enhancing cooperation between the health and climate sectors

Despite the well-known relationship between climate change and health, WHO has been only tangentially involved in major international climate efforts--a situation that must change.

The other Berlin Wall: How the Soviet bioweapons program was revealed

When Soviet scientist Vladimir Pasechnik defected to Britain in 1989, he confirmed what the West had long suspected about Moscow's secret bioweapon efforts.

Bringing the Soviet military-industrial complex to life

Recently uncovered, private notebooks of a former deputy to a high-ranking Politburo member provide new understanding of the Soviet chemical, biological, and nuclear weapon programs during the Cold War's waning days.

The U.S. Army's new biomedical regulations

Recent revisions to the army's biomedical lab regulations introduce much-needed clarity in some areas. But they also raise questions about how the army will work successfully with civilian and foreign laboratories.

Grassroot efforts to impede bioterrorism

Scientists from around the world are partnering with industry to move beyond treaties and regulations as a way to ensure the appropriate use of biological tools.

Tracking the spread of biological technologies

A growing number of people have access to the tools of biology, broadly affecting scientific development, commerce, and security.

How can we reduce the risk of human extinction?

Whether it's superbugs, asteroid impacts, or nuclear attack, the potential of human extinction makes thinking about the end of the world more than an academic exercise.

Biological threat reduction in Central Asia

Still coping with the residue from Soviet-era bioweapons programs, Central Asian scientists are using foreign assistance to improve their region's disease surveillance capabilities.

The security impact of the neurosciences

The U.S. government is exploring using a bevy of advanced neuroscience technologies to support security-related missions--but at what cost?

The challenges of developing synthetic pathogens

Building synthetic pathogens may be the easiest way to spread certain diseases, but it wouldn't be easy.

Helping the United Nations combat bioterrorism

Three ways new U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon can prevent terrorists from using biological weapons.