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Pres. Bush visits Argonne
for homeland security demos
For America to prevail in this war on terrorism, "we will fight on the frontiers of knowledge and discovery," President George W. Bush told a crowd of hundreds of Argonne National Laboratory and Department of Energy employees during his July 22 visit to Argonne.
 SAFER SUBWAYS – Bush was briefed on the PROTECT demonstration in the Washington, D.C., which showed how PROTECT can save lives and speed recovery from terrorist attacks on subway systems. |
Bush was at Argonne to see demonstrations of anti-terrorism technology created by the national laboratories. With him were Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, Homeland Security Adviser Tom Ridge, House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Office of Science and Technology Policy Director John Marburger and DOE Office of Science Director Raymond Orbach.
"In this new war," Bush said, "we will rely upon the genius and creativity of the American people. Our scientific community is serving on the front lines of this war by developing new technologies that will make America safer."
Bush viewed several Argonne technologies that can be adapted for homeland security ranging from infrastructure protection to lab-on-a-chip technology.
At the Advanced Photon Source (APS) Bush saw the 3-D structure of edema factor, one of the three toxins that make anthrax so deadly. The APS' brilliant X-rays reveal the structures of biological molecules that provide a crucial step toward designing drugs to block the harmful effects of anthrax and perhaps other bacterial toxins.
Researchers from the University of Chicago's Ben May Institute for Cancer Research and the Boston Biomedical Research Institute determined the edema factor structure at the APS and published it in Nature.
 PRESIDENTIAL TOUR – Pres. George W. Bush toured the Advanced Photon Source control room during his July 22, 2002, visit to Argonne-East to see Argonne's homeland security research. From left are Operations Analysis Group Leader Mike Borland (seated), Argonne Director Hermann Grunder, Bush, DOE Office of Science Director Raymond Orbach, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, Homeland Security Advisor Tom Ridge and House Speaker Dennis Hastert. |
Edema factor is harmless when it first enters a cell. But if it interacts with calmodulin, a common protein found in most cells, the toxin is prompted to slide apart. The calmodulin settles into the toxin and changes its shape. The altered edema factor toxin over-stimulates cells so they leak water, causing surrounding tissue to swell and die.
Edema factor's structure may make it vulnerable to new drugs. The protein contains a deep pocket, essential to its destructive action, which could be plugged by a small molecule.
Emergency response system
Bush also saw the PROTECT system – a combined detection, communication and quick-response program to secure subways against chemical attacks. It was developed by Argonne's Decision and Information Sciences Division, and Sandia and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories.
"This response system is designed to save lives," said Tony Policastro, Argonne's PROTECT program manager. When recently tested in the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority in Washington, D.C., PROTECT cut emergency response time from 35 minutes to five minutes. Smoke was used as a safe stand-in for a more toxic chemical that could be spread throughout the subway system.
The system includes detectors that sense chemical agents, video for incident verification, a computer program to model the spread of contamination in the subway, above-ground flow modeling for dispersion of toxic materials from street vents and station exits, and wireless communication for emergency responders.
PROTECT is being expanded throughout the Washington, D.C., subway system. The Chicago and Boston transit authorities also are interested. Although the system is limited to detecting chemicals, it may one day be updated to integrate biological detectors.
 BIOSENSOR – This portable biochip reader, being tested by Oleg Alferov, was one of the anti-terrorism devices demonstrated during the Bush visit |
Other homeland security technologies demonstrated for Bush were:
- A "microelectronic nose." This device sniffs out chemical poisons, including non-lethal concentrations of cyanogen chloride and hydrogen cyanide gases. Developed by the Energy Systems Division, researchers are training the palm-sized instrument to detect VX, sarin and mustard gases. The ceramic-metallic sensor arrays, which are smaller than postage stamps, identify "fingerprints" given off by chemicals in contact with the sensors. Each chemical changes the electrical resistance of the detector's components, allowing a computer to determine the presence and concentration of small amounts of chemicals passed over the sensor. The microelectronic nose was recognized by R&D magazine as one of the year's top innovations.
- Biochips for DNA sequencing. Developed in the Biochip Technology Center, these biochips also demonstrate potential for detecting biological agents. The biochip is a small glass slide with up to 10,000 3-D gel pads that serve as micro-test tubes. Robots load the pads with DNA or protein fragments from bacteria, viruses or chemicals. Biochips can perform thousands of biological reactions in a couple of seconds. Computers analyze the MAGIC chips, short for "Micro Array of Gel-Immobilized Compounds," to identify biological pathogens and genetic mutations linked to diseases. The biochips are reusable.
Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories also displayed anti-terror technologies.
For more information, please contact Catherine Foster (630/252-5580 or cfoster@anl.gov) at Argonne.
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