Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions

Promoting Personal Safety & National Security

Did You Know? Anthrax infection can occur in three forms: Cutaneous (skin), inhalation, and gastrointestinal. About 95 percent of infections involve the skin are rarely are fatal. The last naturally occurring case of smallpox in the world was in Somalia in 1977. The last case in the United States was in 1949. A 2002 study found that the average office desk harbors more bacteria than a toilet seat. Toilet seats had 49 germs per square inch, but desktops had 21,000 and phones 25,000.

September 11, 2001 put a new topic on the radar screen for many people in the United States. That tragic day, and the anthrax attacks that followed, made us more aware of threats to personal safety and national security. Chemists and other scientists are responding to a host of threats — ranging from terrorist attacks to germs that collect on kitchen countertops — with discoveries that promise.

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Resources

Science for Kids

Hands on activities for young aspiring chemists

Interview with Dr. Dianne Gates-Anderson

Glitter Slime

Urine the Know

Safe in the Sun

ChemMatters

A magazine for high school students

• Sniffing Landmines (April 2008)
  Dogs can be trained to detect landmines because their noses are so sensitive that they can detect very low amounts of vapor released by landmines from a distance.
• Interview with a Chemist (October 2005)
  Meet a chemist whose mission is to save lives in the event of a chemical, biological, or radiological attack.
• Mustard Gas (April 2005)
  The poison gas that chokes and blisters its victims was the terror of World War I and is still a concern today.
• Coal Mine Safety (February 2004)
  Although it’s gotten safer over the past 100 years, coal mining is still a dangerous occupation. Explosive coal dust and methane gas are major hazards..
• Images of Anthrax—A Team Approach (December 2002)
  Three Milwaukee teens were in search of a chemistry project. They ended up playing a role in the war against bioterrorism.
• Biosensors—Early Warnings of Unseen Enemies (December 2002)
  When the enemy is too small to be seen, these sensing devices give an early warning of an imminent attack. 

Careers in Chemistry

• Biochemistry
• Forensic Chemistry
• Medicinal Chemistry
• Hazardous Waste Management Chemistry

ACS Policy Statements and Briefings

• Balance Security & Openness
• Balancing Science & Security in a Globalized World
• Basic Research Drives Defense Technologies
• Science & Technology in the Intelligence Community
• Sensors: Buildings, Battlefields & Beyond
• The Role of Science in the Art of War
• Science and Technology at the Department of Homeland Security

Books

• Since 9/11, hundreds of books have been written on personal safety and national security. More information is available from the Library of Congress, http://catalog.loc.gov/

Sources for this podcast

• Development of Methodology Based on Commercialized SERS-Active Substrates for Rapid Discrimination of Poxviridae Virions
  Analytical Chemistry, April 15, 2008
• One- and Two-Photon Fluorescent Polyhedral Oligosilsesquioxane (POSS) Nanosensor Arrays for the Remote Detection Clouds, in Solution, and on Surfaces
  Chemistry of Materials, April 22, 2008
• Detection of Castor Contamination by Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
  Journal of Food and Agricultural Chemistry, January 24, 2007
• Strong Antimicrobial Coatings: Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Armored with Biopolymers
  Nano Letters, July 2008
• Single-Molecule Detection of Nitrogen Mustards by Covalent Reaction with a Protein Nanopore
  Journal of the American Chemical Society, May 28, 2008
• Carbon Nanotube/Polythiophene Chemiresistive Sensors for Chemical Warfare Agents
  Journal of the American Chemical Society, April 23, 2008
• Substrate-Modified Hydrogels for Autonomous Sensing of Botulinum Neurotoxin Type A
  Chemistry of Materials, November 27, 2007
• Bioterrorism Agents/Diseases
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Other Resources

• AAAS Science, Technology & Security Policy
• MIT Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Bioterrorism Branch
• U.S. Government Food Safety Information
• National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
• Occupational Safety & Health Administration Chemical Terrorism
• U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science & Technology Directorate
• The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
• House Committee on Homeland Security
• House Subcommittee on Emerging Threats, Cybersecurity, and Science & Technology

National Academies Studies/Reports:

• Food Safety Policy, Science, and Risk Assessment: Strengthening the Connection: Workshop Proceedings
• Emerging Safety Science: Workshop Summary
• The Personal Protective Technology Program at NIOSH:
• Science and Security in a Post 9/11 World: A Report Based on Regional Discussions Between the Science and Security Communities

Congressional Research Service Report:

• RS21270 Homeland Security Research and Development Funding, Organization, and Oversight August 22, 2006

Meet the Scientists

• Scientist Bios