News HighlightBiodefense commission discusses COVID-19 response, future pandemic strategies at IMS
Dozens of officials at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway had a different kind of race on their minds Wednesday: the race against the next pandemic.
More27 September, 2023
Study Panel
The Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense discusses the growing pandemic threat and the steps the United States government needs to take in order to keep America safe. Their discussion is moderated by best-selling author Max Brooks.
April 25, 2024
Donna Shalala Named Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Commission On Biodefense
Today, the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense named former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna E. Shalala Co-Chair, effective immediately. The announcement follows the passing of former Senator Joe Lieberman, founding Co-Chair, whom we lost unexpectedly last month. Together, Secretary Shalala and Governor Tom Ridge will co-chair the Commission.
April 19, 2024
‘Astrobiodefense:’ Thinktank calls for defending Earth from space bugs
The Houston Chronicle published an opinion piece on April 11 titled "Is the U.S. ready for extraterrestrials? Not if they're microbes. How to defend Earth from space bugs." Under the rubric of the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense, former Democratic Congresswoman Donna Shalala and Susan Brooks, a former U.S. Attorney and Republican Congresswoman. Together they serve on the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense. Donna Shalala served as Secretary for Health and Human Services in the Clinton Administration. Brooks served parts of Indiana.
NASA/JPL-Caltech
April 12, 2024
Is the U.S. ready for extraterrestrials? Not if they’re microbes. | Opinion
Astrobiodefense is the defense against biological threats in space and on Earth that result from space exploration. It represents the next frontier — another form of preparedness as we move toward the middle half of the 21st century. There are two goals: to prevent the contamination of extraterrestrial environments with Earth organisms; and to prevent extraterrestrial or mutated terrestrial microbes from harming Earth's inhabitants. As fantastical as it may sound, astrobiodefense is neither hypothetical nor fictional. It is a real challenge that requires urgent attention and action. Astrobiodefense is the defense against biological threats in space and on Earth that result from space exploration. It represents the next frontier — another form of preparedness as we move toward the middle half of the 21st century. There are two goals: to prevent the contamination of extraterrestrial environments with Earth organisms; and to prevent extraterrestrial or mutated terrestrial microbes from harming Earth's inhabitants. As fantastical as it may sound, astrobiodefense is neither hypothetical nor fictional. It is a real challenge that requires urgent attention and action.
April 12, 2024
Is the U.S. ready for extraterrestrials? Not if they’re microbes. | Opinion
Astrobiodefense is the defense against biological threats in space and on Earth that result from space exploration. It represents the next frontier — another form of preparedness as we move toward the middle half of the 21st century. There are two goals: to prevent the contamination of extraterrestrial environments with Earth organisms; and to prevent extraterrestrial or mutated terrestrial microbes from harming Earth's inhabitants. As fantastical as it may sound, astrobiodefense is neither hypothetical nor fictional. It is a real challenge that requires urgent attention and action.
February 8, 2024
Mass-Gathering Events Like the Super Bowl Remind Us That Post-9/11 Security From Biological Attacks Still Lacking More Than 20 Years Later
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, changed our daily lives and the federal approach to security in ways that we still experience today. How we move through airports and tolerate more biometric and video surveillance across major cities are two examples. The two of us were privileged, as the chairman of the Senate Committee from which the creation of the Homeland Security Department came and the Department’s first Secretary, to be much involved in the restructuring of the federal government after 9/11 which we believe improved our homeland safety and security in many ways.
