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Analysis
Analysis - Biosecurity
Getting to bioweapons consensus
How a new framework for preliminary meetings could set the table for strengthening the Biological Weapons Convention.
The unacceptable risks of a man-made pandemic
The international community should create new biosafety protections to prevent the catastrophic escape of potential pandemic pathogens such as SARS and the 1918 pandemic flu.
A hinge moment for the BWC?
The future of biological weapons control may depend on six countries -- China, Cuba, India, Iran, Pakistan, and Russia -- that have chosen to block progress on promising ways to counter biothreats internationally.
Amerithrax review: Lessons for future investigations
The National Academy of Sciences finds significant problems in scientific methodology and organization in the FBI's probe of the 2001 anthrax attacks. If not addressed, the problems could undermine future bio-attack investigations.
Biosecurity 2.0: Enduring threats in the former Soviet Union
Major international donors have recently begun shifting their biological threat reduction efforts to countries in Africa and Southeast Asia. But the international community should not ignore the remaining challenges in the former Soviet Union.
Re-envisioning the Chemical Weapons Convention
Although the technological environment has changed dramatically since the negotiation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, the interpretation of its key terms has remained much the same. Is it time for these terms to be redefined?
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.