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The US military has shown it's important role in the detection & understanding of H5N1. Jeffrey Taubenberger is part of their efforts and the US Navy has done valuable Indonesian testing leading to vaccine development. The article below gives examples of other detection techniques they are developing.(I'm only posting relevent portions of the article)
DoD Works to Save Lives on Battlefield, Improve Talent Pool
Rudi Williams, American Forces Press Service
2006-03-30
WASHINGTON, March 29, 2006 ? The Defense Department is working on ways to use technology to save lives on the battlefield, and has created a full scholarship program to increase its talent pool of scientists, engineers and mathematicians, a top official said here recently............
Payton said DoD is developing a pathogen-detection system that could detect widespread epidemics and pandemics long before they endanger large populations. Work is also under way on a medical surveillance system using a diagnostic "zebra" computer chip that can test for engineered diseases before outbreaks are detected. "We'll be able to rapidly warn health care centers about man-made outbreaks," she said......
In a few years we'll be able to detect over 500,000 pathogens with one computer zebra chip," Payton said. "We'll be able to look for smallpox, anthrax, plague, Ebola, West Nile virus, SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), bird flu and anthrax."......
She also spoke of the shrinking pool of American scientists and engineers. Payton pointed out that more than half of science and engineering graduates from American universities are foreign nationals. "Fewer American students are entering science and technology fields than ever before," she said. "Our nation is at risk strategically and economically. Educationally, the world is passing us up."
For example, she said, China, Japan and Korea added more than 360,000 new graduates in engineering in 2000 while the U.S. graduated less than 60,000. In the same year, China graduated more than 4,500 individuals with doctorates in engineering, while the U.S. graduated less than 2,200.
To make matters worse, she said, the American science and engineering work force is aging. "More than 50 percent of our (people with doctoral degrees) are over 50 years old and will be retiring soon," she said.
The crisis prompted DoD to fund an integrated effort to deepen its talent pool in science, technology, engineering and math -- or STEM -- fields. The goal is to improve STEM understanding and teacher ability and to stimulate youth for STEM studies and careers.
DoD's effort to build its talent pool includes investing in youth through the National Defense Education Program, which focuses on seven critical skills with a total of $155 million for 2006 to 2011. The money is earmarked for full scholarships in such subjects as physical sciences, physics, chemistry, applied mathematics, biology, hardware and software design, engineering, and languages.
..........(didn't post whole article)
So if any readers are or their children are, interested in this field, here may be the path to a career in the challenges within emerging infectious diseases.
.
DoD Works to Save Lives on Battlefield, Improve Talent Pool
Rudi Williams, American Forces Press Service
2006-03-30
WASHINGTON, March 29, 2006 ? The Defense Department is working on ways to use technology to save lives on the battlefield, and has created a full scholarship program to increase its talent pool of scientists, engineers and mathematicians, a top official said here recently............
Payton said DoD is developing a pathogen-detection system that could detect widespread epidemics and pandemics long before they endanger large populations. Work is also under way on a medical surveillance system using a diagnostic "zebra" computer chip that can test for engineered diseases before outbreaks are detected. "We'll be able to rapidly warn health care centers about man-made outbreaks," she said......
In a few years we'll be able to detect over 500,000 pathogens with one computer zebra chip," Payton said. "We'll be able to look for smallpox, anthrax, plague, Ebola, West Nile virus, SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), bird flu and anthrax."......
She also spoke of the shrinking pool of American scientists and engineers. Payton pointed out that more than half of science and engineering graduates from American universities are foreign nationals. "Fewer American students are entering science and technology fields than ever before," she said. "Our nation is at risk strategically and economically. Educationally, the world is passing us up."
For example, she said, China, Japan and Korea added more than 360,000 new graduates in engineering in 2000 while the U.S. graduated less than 60,000. In the same year, China graduated more than 4,500 individuals with doctorates in engineering, while the U.S. graduated less than 2,200.
To make matters worse, she said, the American science and engineering work force is aging. "More than 50 percent of our (people with doctoral degrees) are over 50 years old and will be retiring soon," she said.
The crisis prompted DoD to fund an integrated effort to deepen its talent pool in science, technology, engineering and math -- or STEM -- fields. The goal is to improve STEM understanding and teacher ability and to stimulate youth for STEM studies and careers.
DoD's effort to build its talent pool includes investing in youth through the National Defense Education Program, which focuses on seven critical skills with a total of $155 million for 2006 to 2011. The money is earmarked for full scholarships in such subjects as physical sciences, physics, chemistry, applied mathematics, biology, hardware and software design, engineering, and languages.
..........(didn't post whole article)
So if any readers are or their children are, interested in this field, here may be the path to a career in the challenges within emerging infectious diseases.
.
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