Interesting article published in https://theins.ru/confession/292995 where Nadezhda Zavyalova, who worked at a pharmaceutical company in St. Petersburg called Silver Pharm, LLC as a junior researcher described the laboratory's operations. This company is reportedly headed by Sergei Chepur, a specialist in anticholinesterase poisons, including Novichok.  Among other things, Nadezhda talks about how she was told when joinng Silver Pharm that they were developing antidotes for poisoning in the event of chemical attacks, about the substances they tested on animals, about soldiers “with secret suitcases,” and how they falsified the results of experiments to make fancy reports.  [...]

In a story in Sputnik, it is reported that Russia's investigative committee has obtained evidence of the development of biological weapons of mass destruction involving Ukraine’s Health Ministry and funded by the United States, the agency’s official spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko said. “During an investigation of the criminal case launched in 2022 under Article 355 of the Russian Criminal Code (the development, production and stockpiling of weapons of mass destruction), we obtained data indicating that the US Department of Defense financed the development of biological weapons of mass destruction with the involvement of personnel from Ukraine’s Health Ministry,” she said at [...]

In the aftermath of suspected chemical attacks, investigators from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) step in to collect chemical, environmental and biomedical samples. Thorough forensic laboratory analysis of these samples is essential for proving what — if any — chemical agents were used and verifying their identities. Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) Forensic Science Center (FSC) recently developed a new technique to detect pinacolyl alcohol (PA), a unique marker for the nerve agent Soman in environmental samples. The paper has been published in ACS Omega, where it was given the Editor’s Choice Award and featured [...]

The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) removed the last cesium-137 blood irradiator from Lebanon, marking an important milestone in NNSA’s mission to enhance U.S. security by eliminating high-risk radioactive material across the world. Cesium irradiators, used in medical applications such as blood treatment and cancer research, contain highly radioactive sources. If stolen from a less secure facility, the cesium inside them could be used to create a radiological dispersal device, commonly referred to as a “dirty bomb." “As regional pressures and threats intensified, clearing Lebanon of radioactive material became a vital step in denying adversaries its [...]

908 Devices Inc. , a pioneer of purpose-built handheld devices for chemical analysis, announces that it has completed the acquisition of NIRLAB AG, a privately held company based in Lausanne, Switzerland. The company delivers AI-powered, cloud-connected near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy to perform handheld chemical analysis of narcotics in seconds. This acquisition expands 908 Devices’ analytical portfolio and strengthens its leadership in narcotics detection with NIRLAB’s solution for fast, high-volume screening for everyday law enforcement patrol. The NIRLAB handheld device enables safe, point-and-click analysis of more than 400 common drugs, such as cocaine and methamphetamine, directly or through thin plastic bags and glass, [...]

Thermo Fisher Scientific has launched the Thermo Scientific™ PackEye™ XS Radiation Detection Backpack, a next-generation system designed for covert radiation detection, identification, and assessment. This lightweight, portable system enables homeland security, defense, law enforcement, CBRNe, emergency response, border control, and critical infrastructure protection teams to discreetly monitor radiological threats. With a patented Natural Background Rejection (NBR) algorithm, the PackEye XS minimizes false alarms from natural radiation and provides immediate feedback on artificial or abnormal radiation sources. The system delivers a competitive advantage with an industry-leading 8-lb system weight, compared to the typical 15-22 lb industry standard, and an extended runtime of up to 24 hours [...]

Unveiled at Modern Day Marine 2026, Teledyne FLIR Defense announced the expansion of its Third-Party Payload Integration Program with the certification of Emesent’s Hovermap LiDAR Payload. The agreement will deliver Emesent’s GPS-denied 3D-mapping capabilities across Teledyne FLIR’s unmanned aerial systems (UAS), ground robots, and radiation detection platforms. The Emesent–Teledyne FLIR combination addresses a GPS-denial gap in air and ground domains where unmanned systems can lose GPS connectivity in common operating areas, such as tunnels, urban structures, and CBRN-contaminated spaces. Using LiDAR-based Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM), Emesent’s Hovermap payload generates accurate 3D maps without GPS or external infrastructure. On Teledyne [...]