biology

National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center

National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center rather than just read about it. In short: The National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC) is a government biodefense research laboratory created by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and located at the sprawling biodefense campus at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland.

Key takeaways

National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
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Reproduce the core statement of National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC) is a government biodefense research laboratory created by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and located at the sprawling biodefense campus at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland. The NBACC (pronounced EN-back) is the principal U.S. biodefense research institution engaged in laboratory-based threat assessment and bioforensics. The NBACC is an important part of the National Interagency Biodefense Campus (NIBC) also located at Fort Detrick for the U.S. Army, National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Background and mission The NBACC was created as a federal response to the 2001 anthrax attacks as the first national laboratory operating under the Department of Homeland Security. The Department of Homeland Security said the mission of the NBACC is "to provide the scientific basis for the characterization of biological threats and bioforensic analysis to support attribution of their planned or actual use." Part of the NBACC's mission is to conduct realistic tests of the pathogens and tactics that might be used in a bioterrorism attack. It seeks to quantitatively answer questions pertaining to what might happen in a biological attack. This work is carried out by about 180 researchers and support staff and has become more advanced since the NBACC became certified to work with biological select agents and toxins in September 2011. Its work is necessary in the preparation and response to biological threats, which can be handled as they emerge through the NBACC national security biocontainment laboratory. The NBACC is equipped to develop and investigate genetically engineered viruses and bacteria. The NBACC evaluates new and emerging technologies, along with delivery devices that U.S. adversaries might use to disseminate the pathogens. The NBACC coordinates closely with the many departments and agencies in the U.S. government, including the U.S. intelligence community which has assigned advisers to the Center. The NBACC is involved in a partnership with the National Interagency Confederation for Biological Research at Fort Detrick and initiated the "Work for Others" program, which expands the NBACC's capacity to share information with a variety of related federal agencies.

Significance of operation In June 2017, Daniel M. Gerstein, senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation and former acting Under Secretary and Deputy Under Secretary of the DHS's Science and Technology Directorate, said, "In the last 40 to 60 years, hundreds of new diseases have cropped up across the world ... The country and the world have not proven ready to handle a true public health crisis." Describing the NBACC's value to science, Gerstein said, "Back in 2001, we did not have this facility, and it literally took months in order to do the forensics analysis of samples ... they had to outsource ... to 12 different facilities to get everything analyzed back then. Today, the NBACC can do those forensic analyses in a couple days." The risk of a bioterrorism attack continues to grow. International terrorist organizations, such as ISIS, have shown growing desire to access and use biological weapons. A 19-page document providing instructions on the creation of biological weapons was discovered on a laptop obtained from ISIS in 2014. Kenyan authorities stopped an ISIS-affiliated anthrax plot in late 2016. In early 2017, South Korea speculated that North Korea was developing biological weapons that could be dispersed through drones. The NBACC and affiliated groups play an important role in protecting the public from these mounting threats. NBACC has already proven capable of responding to these types of threats, as an important actor in the United States response to the Ebola Outbreak of 2014. During the crisis, NBACC scientists carried out experiments to test the duration of the virus' activity when placed on different surfaces, and best practices for sanitation after completing tests.

Threats to continued work Under President Trump's budget proposal for fiscal year 2018, the NBACC stands to lose funding that allows it to continue scientific studies. The NBACC is faced with the threat of complete shutdown of its facilities by September 2018. Daniel M. Gerstein said the result of the closure of the NBACC would be a "potentially devastating public health concern." The cost of replacing the services provided by the NBACC will be more expensive than continuing its operations simply due to the nature of changing the role of the NBACC's facilities, according to Homeland Preparedness News. Congressman John Delaney (D-MD), who represents the Maryland congressional district in which the NBACC resides, said in a statement from May 2017:

I am 100 percent opposed to the closing of the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center in Frederick and will fight this deeply misguided move by the Trump Administration ... The National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center is a unique facility that is crucial to our homeland security, intelligence, and anti-terrorism endeavors. This is the lab that protects us against anthrax attacks, ricin attacks and other bioterrorism threats. In May 2017, several faculty at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said the loss of the NBACC would make the impact of a bioterror attack "far more dire." They said, "In the first moments after the attack is identified, we'd want to know the identity of the pathogen used in the attack, whether it could spread from person to person and what drugs and vaccines would work to treat and protect people. But with ... complete elimination [of the NBACC] ... the delay before these and other facts are known would increase, costing many lives." In September 2015, the Battelle National Biodefense Institute (which operates the NBACC) was awarded a 10-year contract for operations and management. At the time, Battelle said the contract would be worth $480 million if fully executed. The proposed Trump budget for 2018, though, would see this award retracted, leading to the end of all scientific operations by March 2018.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center

In research: National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2001 anthrax attacks, 2002 establishments in Maryland, Biological warfare, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center in simple terms?

Why does National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center.