Columnists
Laura H. Kahn
How evil can prevail in state-sanctioned biowarfare research
When societies break down because of war or civil strife, it allows some physicians and/or researchers to act upon their worst prejudices.
The furor over genetically modified foods
Growing crops resistant to drought and disease sounds like a good idea, but the companies promoting such crops need to ensure that they're safe.
In pursuit of international biosecurity oversight
Achieving global cooperation in biosecurity oversight requires an international organization with legitimacy and a solid reputation.
The potential dangers in medical isotope production
Physicians use medical isotopes such as technetium 99 to save lives, but terrorists could use the production byproducts to build crude nuclear weapons.
Stethoscopes belong in museums
When treating twenty-first century patients, primary-care physicians shouldn't rely on nineteenth century technology.
Public health lessons from virtual game worlds
The play in virtual game worlds is fantasy, but the players are living, breathing human beings whose behavior during an online pandemic could give insight into disease spread.
The growing number of immunocompromised
Effective pandemic planning must take into account the challenges posed by immunocompromised individuals, who are at an increased risk for acquiring and spreading infections to others.
The scourge of antibiotic-resistant bacteria
Antibiotics combat bacterial infections such as pneumonia, but their misuse and overuse actually harms public health.
Why evolution should be taught in public schools
The constant struggle against intelligent design dogma hinders efforts to prepare the next generation to understand the life sciences.
The sewer: Guardian against disease
As more and more people inhabit overpopulated megacities, innovative sewage removal and treatment systems might serve as the best way to prevent an epidemic.
Children: The bioterrorists we love
Given their aversion to cleanliness and a dislike for hygiene, kids play a major role in spreading disease such as influenza.
The spread of mosquito-borne diseases
Think of a mosquito as a flying hypodermic needle that can inject disease from one individual to the next.
The end of vaccines?
With profits dwindling and litigation pending that could harm those vaccine makers still in business, vaccines may go the way of the diseases they prevent.
Pathogens on a plane
A hollow tube 30,000 feet in the air filled with people sneezing, coughing, and talking while breathing recirculated air provides the perfect environment for disease transmission.
The exodus of general medical physicians
The United States could better protect itself against epidemics and bioterrorism by supporting the people who will diagnose and treat the victims.
Bring back the Office of Technology Assessment
Without an effective advisory body such as OTA, Congress continues to make decisions about scientific and technological advancements it doesn't fully understand.
How the pet food scare affects global health
When a company decides to sell food on the international market (pet or otherwise), it better understand that everybody’s health is at stake.
Mother Nature’s bioterrorism
The alarming decline of honeybees and other species demonstrates that dangerous biothreats can originate from more natural, innocuous sources than Al Qaeda.
Profile
Laura H. Kahn
A general internist who began her career in health care as a registered nurse, Kahn works on the research staff of Princeton University's Program on Science and Global Security. Her expertise is in public health, biodefense, and pandemics. From 2003-2005, she led a study that assessed the public health infrastructures of New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. She has also co-organized the Carnegie Corporation’s "Biodefense Challenge" seminar series, which introduces biosecurity, codes of conduct, and dual-use biotech threats to the life sciences community. Prior to joining Princeton, she was a managing physician for the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services and a medical officer for the Food and Drug Administration.
Columnist Resources
Recent Work
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"How the Radiological and Nuclear Medical Communities Can Improve Nuclear Security"
Journal of American College of Radiology (April 2007) -
"Confronting Zoonoses Through Closer Collaboration Between Medicine and Veterinary Medicine (as 'One Medicine')"
Veterinaria Italiana (January-March 2007) -
"A Comparative Study of Four States' Public Health Systems: Survey Results from Local Health Departments, Physicians, and Veterinarians"
Final Report to the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation (August 2006) -
"Feasibility of Eliminating the Use of Highly Enriched Uranium in the Production of Medical Radiopharmaceuticals"
Science & Global Security (May-December 2006) -
"Confronting Zoonoses, Linking Human and Veterinary Medicine"
Emerging Infectious Diseases (April 2006)
Recommended Links
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PROMed Mail
The global electronic reporting system for outbreaks of emerging infectious disease and toxins -
Emerging Infectious Diseases
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention journal -
Effect Measure
A forum for progressive public health discussion and argument -
National Library of Medicine PubMed
A searchable database that includes biomedical articles dating back to the 1950s -
Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy
Infectious disease prevention through epidemiologic research and the rapid translation of scientific information into practical applications and solutions -
National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity
A federal initiative to promote biosecurity in life science research -
The Sunshine Project
Research and facts about biological weapons and biotechnology -
Flu Wiki
Helping local communities prepare for a possible influenza pandemic -
The Pump Handle
A watercooler for the public health crowd -
Center for Biosecurity, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Independent organization working to a lessen the illness, death, and civil disruption that would follow large-scale epidemics