Porton Down
| Use attributes for filter ! | |
| Locations | Porton |
|---|---|
| Salisbury | |
| Wiltshire | |
| England | |
| Opening date | March 1916 |
| Date of Reg. | |
| Date of Upd. | |
| ID | 2205247 |
About Porton Down
Porton Down is a science park in Wiltshire, England, just northeast of the village of Porton, near Salisbury.
Porton Down: Can this laboratory help stop the next pandemic?
...By James GallagherHealth and science correspondent, reporting from Porton DownOne of the UK s most secretive centres of scientific research - Porton Down - is aiming to stop the next pandemic " in its tracks"...
Guildford pub bombs inquest: What have we learned?
... Scientists at the time suggested a watch had been modified to act as an electromechanical timer, Porton Down expert Lorna Hills told the inquest...
Monkeypox: How UK hospitals are tackling the outbreak
... There a swab will be taken and sent to the rare and imported pathogens lab in Porton Down, run by the UK Health Security Agency...
Gruinard Island: Fire on island used for Anthrax experiments
... The experiment was deemed a success and the scientists returned to Porton Down - but the anthrax remained...
The mystery of Anthrax Island and the seeds of death
... " The first delivery will have been made - and where better to send the seeds of death than to the place from whence they came? " That place was the Porton Down biological research centre in Wiltshire, the top secret Ministry of Defence laboratory...
The 'map nerds' who are building a national archive
... Frustratingly enough, I have visited several undocumented squares at Porton Down but was not allowed to photograph them...
Coronavirus: Test aim take a lot of work,' says Hancock
... He said that they would 500 highly-accurate anti-body blood tests to detect whether someone already coronavirus - per day carried out by the military science laboratory in Porton Down...
Landscapes of chemical and biological warfare
... the scientists from Porton Down and the Royal Navy released biological agents in front of the coast of the Isle of Lewis, in the examination of the impact on the 3,500 cage, Guinea pigs, and monkeys...
Gruinard Island: Fire on island used for Anthrax experiments
An uninhabited Scottish island where government scientists once conducted experiments with Anthrax has been hit by a fire.
People who saw The Fire on Gruinard Island from The Mainland described The Scene as " apocalyptic".
They said the uninhabited island off Scotland's north-West Coast was ablaze from " one end to The Other " on Saturday evening.
The Island was used for germ warfare experiments during World War Two.
It was declared Anthrax Free by the Ministry of Defence in April 1990.
Kate Gearing and Her Daughter Nessie were at their home in Aultbea when they saw a glow in the sky, around 20:30 on Saturday Night .
They could smell The Smoke in the air from their house which is about Five Miles from The Island .
They got into The Car to investigate, and drove along the coast until they saw The Fire , which they said you couldn't miss.
Nessie took pictures from the area around Gruinard beach.
The 25-year-old described The Scene as " apocalyptic, " and said it looked like " hell fire".
" There was a string of flames around the whole circumference of The Island , " She Said .
Kate said The Island off the North West coast was lit up by flames from one end of The Island to The Other .
The Most distressing thing about The Scene , Kate said, was The Noise of birds, which she thinks were nesting on The Island .
" We could hear birds crying, screaming, And Then suddenly there was Silence - But The Flames went on, it was awful. "
She Said thankfully The Island is Far Away enough from shore not to be a danger to The Mainland .
The pair returned on Sunday, and said there were no obvious flames by the afternoon. However, there was still some smoke hanging in the air.
Kate, a retired GP, said: " The Island is Pretty Black now. There's just a few trees left standing, along the shoreline. "
" I'm just hoping there aren't any anthrax spores left around anywhere, " she added.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said The Island did not fall under its remit because it is uninhabited.
Earlier This Week it issued A Warning that The Risk of wildfires was " very high" in central, southern and north-east Scotland.
It urged people to to think twice about using Naked Flames outdoors.
How did Gruinard Island come to be contaminated with Anthrax?Anthrax is a lethal bacteria, especially when inhaled, and it proves fatal in almost all cases, even with medical treatment.
Gruinard had long been uninhabited when, with World War Two on a Knife Edge , the government tasked scientists with finding a way of harnessing anthrax as a Weapon - fearing The Nazis had developed a biological bomb.
They had to find a testing site that was remote, uninhabited and isolated But accessible from The Mainland .
Rumours began to spread on The Mainland when sheep, cows and horses began dying strange deaths.
The facts about What Happened remained a mystery until the declassification of an MoD film 50 Years later.
It showed sheep being put in exposure crates facing the anthrax cloud.
The Film shows a small blast set off by Remote Control And Then white powder Moving On The Wind . Within days all The Sheep were dead.
The Experiment was deemed a success and The Scientists returned to Porton Down - But the anthrax remained.
In an attempt to rid The Island of anthrax spores, Porton Down instructed the heather be set On Fire .
It remained Off Limits and it was not until 24 years after The Experiment that The Warning signs even mentioned Anthrax.
Porton Down experts checked The Soil But the anthrax spores were " surprisingly resistant to degradation".
In 1986, Gruinard was again a hive of activity as teams of scientists, vaccinated against anthrax and dressed in protective clothing, prepared to return The Island to its natural state.
They sprayed The Soil with seawater and formaldehyde and it was again tested at Porton Down .
Finally, on 24 April 1990, the MoD declared Gruinard anthrax Free .
Source of news: bbc.com
