Tracing Explosives And Fish With Chemical TagsResearchers at the University of Oviedo (Spain) have come up with a way of tagging gunpowder which allows its illegal use to be detected even after it has been detonated. Based on the addition of isotopes, the technique can also be used to track and differentiate between wild fish and those from a fish farm, such as trout and salmon...
WTC Responders' PTSD Linked To Respiratory IllnessMore than a decade after 9/11, the "FirstView" section online in Psychological Medicine published results of a study in which the association between two signature health problems amongst WTC first responders was examined, namely respiratory illness and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The study was led by Benjamin J. Luft, M.D., an Edmund D...
WTC Attack Responders - PTSD Linked To Respiratory DiseaseResults of an investigation analyzing the association between the two signature health problems - post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and respiratory illness - among recovery workers who responded first at the World Trade Center (WTC), have been revealed after more than a decade following the terrorist attacks on the WTC. The study was led by Benjamin J. Luft, M.D., the Edmund D...
Mutated Bird Flu Research Worries World Health OrganizationResearch on the H5N1 influenza (bird flu) virus' human transmissibility is seriously starting to worry WHO (World Health Organization) experts - in a written statement, the authors express concern about the potential risks linked to this research. The possible negative consequences of some experiments are serious and potentially dangerous...
US Govt Asks Scientists To Keep Lab-Bred Bird Flu Blueprint SecretImagine this, our worst nightmare becomes our reality: as anticipated, the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus that kills most people it infects has acquired the ability to transmit easily from bird to human and then from human to human and has reached pandemic proportions...
When Planning For Terrorist Chemical Weapons, Pharmacists May Be CrucialTerrorist attacks with chemical weapons are a real possibility, according to a study that appears in the online open access Journal of Pharmacy Practice, published by SAGE. Thanks to their extensive knowledge of toxic agents, and how to treat those who have been exposed, pharmacists are an invaluable resource in the event of an actual or potential chemical weapons attack...
Anthrax Attack, US Government Agrees $2.5 Million Payout, But Does Not Admit FaultThe family of Florida photo editor, Robert Stevens, who died following an anthrax attack, is to receive a payout of $2.5 million from the US government. According to court filings, Maureen Stevens will no longer pursue other claims. The lawsuit, which was filed in 2003, claimed government negligence because it did not stop somebody at U.S...
Norwegians Still Coming To Terms With TerrorHow will the terrorist attacks in Norway on 22 July change the country? That question has been put to three social scientists at the University of Stavanger (UiS). "Norwegians are still in a state of shock," says professor Odd Einar Olsen. "These incidents were so extensive and gruesome that people need time to come to terms with them...