|
Hot Topics
Debate on Biosafety Bill Hots Up in Kenya's Parliament
Dec. 8 --Kenya's Members of Parliament last week overwhelmingly passed what this article says was "a crucial vote that could pave [the] way" for the implementation of a national bill on biosafety. Speaking during the parliamentary debate, Kilemi Mwiria, Kenya's assistant minister for higher education, science and technology, said that biotechnology can assist in efforts to raise Kenyan agricultural yields. A key difference between developed and developing countries, Mwiria said, is the current technological gap that exists between them. Mwiria argued that the country's draft Biosafety Bill would safeguard Kenyans and protect against potential problems with biotechnology, about which many Kenyans have raised concerns in various forums. The article can be viewed online at the link below. The original article may be accessed at http://www.agbios.com/main.php?action=ShowNewsItem&id=10274.
Primate center unveils biosafety lab
Dec. 6 --Five years in the making and prompted by an influx of federal financing for bioterrorism research after anthrax scares and the Sept. 11 attacks, Tulane University's National Primate Research Center on Friday showed off its new $27.5 million lab for studying airborne contaminants and infectious diseases. The Regional Biosafety Laboratory, a 38,000-square-foot facility within the center near Covington, is not expected to open for business until mid-summer, but on Friday morning, national, state and local officials used an oversized pair of scissors to cut a green ribbon, officially marking the lab's completion. Visit
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1228544506295490.xml&coll=1&thispage=1 for more information.
America's Bioterrorism Labs Under the Microscope
Dec. 4 -- Some of the deadliest viruses and bacteria known to mankind -- Ebola, anthrax, smallpox and the plague -- are housed on American soil in facilities known as Biosafety Level (BSL) 4 labs. But concern is growing about the safety of these labs following last week's alarming report by a congressional panel that predicts terrorists are "likely" to deploy biological or nuclear weapons in the next five years. Find out more at
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2008/12/04/americas-bioterrorism-labs-microscope/.
|
