Research challenge: how to defend against still-undefined chemical, biological attacks.

• Author: Jean, Grace V.

FORT BELVOIR, Va. -- Military scientists are often criticized for not working fast enough and for not pushing technologies into the field more expeditiously. Those working in chemical and biological sciences are no exception.

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At the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, researchers are finding ways to compress the cycle so they can respond to future attacks that could come in the form of deadly viruses or toxic agents. They worry that advances in biological and chemical sciences are making it easy for would-be terrorists to wield nature's compounds and bugs for deleterious purposes.

Last year's H1N1 pandemic demonstrated how a highly transmissible virus could wreak havoc in a matter of weeks.

"It is clear that a pandemic contagious disease is an enormous threat to this country and the world," said Bill Huff, chief of the chemical and biological operations division at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

"We cannot take our eye off the biological or chemical attack," said Huff. "We have to continue to be vigilant in that arena and continue to develop the technologies that will enable our forces to withstand and operate and successfully defeat a chemical or biological attack."

Keeping up with next-generation chemical agents and bioengineering threats is a constant burden. "There's an awful lot of work that needs to be done," said Huff. Developing the technologies to counter the unforeseeable remains the biggest challenge, he added. "What if we get hit with an unknown? How do we rapidly respond?"

Army Col. Michael O'Keefe, acting director of the chemical and biological technologies directorate, said the agency is also looking for talent outside the government.

Reaching out to scientists who may not be working on chem-bio defense projects per se can be a challenge. But the connections are being made and some are yielding benefits to ongoing projects.

Take Omar Yaghi for example. The University of California-Los Angeles chemistry professor probably never thought of his research as having a defense application. He is working on chemical compounds to improve hydrogen storage capabilities for fuel cell-powered cars. DTRA tapped into his research on compounds that soak up chemicals. These compounds, called metal-organic frameworks, have tiny spaces where chemical agents can be absorbed. Then they can be decontaminated or destroyed by reactive elements.

"That type of cutting-edge science could end up in a protective suit the war...