FDA Approves First Commercial Zika Test
The FDA has granted emergency authorization to Quest Diagnostics to sell a Zika virus test. This is the first commercially developed test that diagnoses the Zika virus. Quest Diagnostics planned to make the tests available to doctors, which expands their availability from the Center of Disease Control and Prevention laboratories. Infection with the Zika virus can present no symptoms, so the test will allow people who live in or have traveled to an area with Zika virus transmission to know if they are infected. The Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) allows the use of certain medical products after an emergency has been declared by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Due to Zika’s significant potential for a public health emergency, the Secretary of HHS declared that the emergency use of in-vitro diagnostic tests for Zika is justified. See: http://www.fda.gov/EmergencyPreparedness/Counterterrorism/MedicalCountermeasures/MCMIssues/ucm485199.htm#eua.
Pentagon Contracts Eight Companies for Microelectronics Program
The Pentagon has issued contracts worth $7.2 billion USD over the next twelve years to upgrade legacy and/or unreliable electronics in DoD systems. To support this effort, the Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA) awarded contracts through its Advanced Technology Support Program IV (ATSP4) to companies that can give the DoD access to expertise on microelectronic engineering. The companies that were awarded contracts are Northrop Grumman Systems, Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems Information & Electronic Systems Integration, General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, Aeroflex Colorado Springs, Raytheon, Boeing, and Honeywell International. See: https://defensesystems.com/articles/2016/04/01/dod-atsp4-electronics-support-contract.aspx.
Department of Defense Discusses Cyber Strategy
On April 18, 2016, DoD Chief Information Officer, Terry Halvorsen discussed the need to modernize DoD networks as part of the Department’s cybersecurity strategy. The DoD also aims to consolidate data centers, empowering mobile data access, and facilitating cooperation and short-term personnel trades between government and industry cybersecurity workers. The DoD is focused on their shift to the Joint Regional Security Stacks, a centrally managed, regionally based suite of security appliances, to secure networks and reduce the number of access points that can be attacked. See: http://www.defense.gov/News-Article-View/Article/723174/dod-cio-discusses-modernizing-networks-consolidating-data-centers.
Industrial Control Systems Make Industry Vulnerable
The Deputy Director of the NSA, Richard H. Ledgett Jr., warned of industry’s reliance on industrial control systems (ICS) in his keynote address for the Joint Service Academy Cyber Security Summit at the US Military Academy. In recent years, ICS has become less obscure, but providers have not adequately addressed threats to their security. Cyber attacks can cause significant damage to infrastructure, such as the four-month blackout of the Ukrainian power grid. Ledgett warned, “Any system is only as strong as its weakest link.” See: http://www.defense.gov/News-Article-View/Article/740177/critical-infrastructure-vulnerable-to-attack-nsa-leader-says.
A World-Wide Framework to Foster A Prosperous Climate
2015 was the hottest year to date, and Earth’s temperature continues to rise. Now, for the first time ever, 195 countries across the world have agreed to an environmental treaty known as the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The main objective, along with maintaining sustainable development, is to hold the increase in global temperature to 1.5°C. In order to achieve this goal, we must virtually halt emitting greenhouse gasses into the air by the year 2060 according to “A Reader’s Guide to the Paris Agreement” (Dec 16, 2015 The Atlantic). The rate of our current emissions productions has led to the critical need for finding a method of removing carbon dioxide from the air through so-called “negative emissions” technologies, noted by Knutti, et al. in “A Scientific Critique of the Two-degree Climate Change Target.” (Nature Geoscience, 2016; 9:13-18) While negative emissions are not mentioned explicitly throughout the text of the Agreement, it is certainly a noticeable undertone. See: https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2015/cop21/eng/l09r01.pdf.
Neuroprosthetics Successfully Meet the Posterior Parietal Cortex
In a remarkable case from May 2015, a quadriplegic man successfully played a game of tic-tac-toe utilizing neuroprosthetics- specifically, robotically programmed prosthetic arms (Controlling a Robotic Arm with a Patient’s Intentions - Caltech News May 21, 2015). A trial led by Richard Anderson and colleagues investigated the capabilities of the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) in executing motor function. The PPC plays a pivotal role in producing planned movements and receives input from the visual, auditory, and somatosensory systems. These initial intentions are subsequently transmitted from brain to spinal cord and, finally, to the arms and legs where the motion is completed. Many previous applications of neuroprosthetics involving the use of small electrodes and brain wirings to record signals from the motor cortex proved defective, as such signals were extensively detailed and too complex. Anderson and his team have focused on simplifying the message. Using the simpler signals recorded from the PPC, Anderson anticipated patients would find the task more intuitive, thus yielding more successful motor operation. As soon as day one after surgical recovery, the patient was able to control the limb. Results bring great hope of improved quality of life for paralyzed patients. See: Richard A. Anderson, “Decoding Motor Imagery from the Posterior Parietal Cortex of a Tetraplegic Human.” Science Magazine May 22, 2015: 906-10. http://authors.library.caltech.edu/54866/.
