Rep. Rush Holt speaking for his 2/25 anthrax investigation amendment

Audio and Text from the National Academy of Engineering Anthrax Close-up, Part 2 12/14/2008 The FBI says spores from the anthrax attack letters are genetically linked to spores in a flask controlled by Fort Detrick researcher Bruce Ivins. But high-tech microscopic analysis shows what might be a key difference. Listen Randy Atkins: The chemical element…

From The Parliament.com More than 200 deputies have signed a proposal calling for a special committee on the H1N1 pandemic. The members, who come from across the political divide, said one of its aims would be to evaluate the EU’s dependence on the World Health Organisation. Speaking at a news conference in parliament on Wednesday,…

Just for fun, let’s investigate some facets of the FBI’s case: 1. Leaks last weekend claimed that Ivins was about to be charged with committing the anthrax crime. Turns out, FBI had not yet brought its evidence against Ivins to a grand jury. And one of his attorneys denies that he was told he was…

Like so much in today’s world of politics, there is no logic that can explain it.  Biodefense labs (whose value in the light of the risk they pose is questionable) are being built smack in the middle of large cities (Boston), in areas that flood (Galveston), and in the middle of a farming area dense…

Very nice summary article by Helen Branswell regarding assumptions scientists have made about influenza, and how many of these assumptions have had to be discarded, as swine influenza furnished plenty of surprising facts.

My state has had 1156 positive COVID cases, 0.1% of the population, and 30 new cases in the last day.   Twenty-two percent of cases have been in healthcare workers.  New cases peaked in early April.  My county has had only 10 diagnosed cases, though we don’t know how many people who have second homes here,…